Love Me Twice
by GrEaTmInD1
Summary: What if Felicity and Oliver met in high school? What if the playboy met the goth? What if Oliver was always destined to be a bratva captain? what if Donna Smoak married Quentin Lance? What if Oliver was never lost at sea? A bratva alternate universe...
1. Crashing into his orbit

**This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

"Mom you look beautiful!" I assured her firmly. I sat in the chair patiently as my mom scrutinized her reflection in the mirror for the millionth time. She was nervous and slightly embarrassed. She smoothed the nonexistent creases on her dress with her palms. I tried to temper down the nervousness I was feeling, my mom needed me right now and I can't get sucked into the vortex of my insecurities. I looked ridiculous in the pale pink knee length gown it clashed with my shiny black hair and dark lipstick, oh well there are certain things in life that can't be helped.

I stood there watching my mom getting ready to walk down the aisle with Quentin, it felt surreal to me. Her blue eyes were glistening with anticipation, her long blonde hair pinned in an elegant bun. Her thin frame adorned in a gorgeous white, off shoulder gown. The dress was custom made for her, the pearl earring was borrowed from Grandma Jules and she was wearing the silver bracelet that I had gifted, it had a tiny sapphire in the centre. I had shelled out my entire savings to buy her the bracelet which was not much to begin with. She was the perfect picture of a blushing bride.

The past ten years had been tough, dad walking out on us, hit us so hard, but we both are a team and we got through it together. My mom went back to school after my dad left us. We scraped through till she got her college degree. We moved to Starling city last year and started a new life here. I transferred schools and my mom found a secretarial position for a small law firm, it was a huge step up for her considering she used to waitress for a living back in Vegas. And it was there she met Quentin Lance, the detective she was going marry in the next hour. I missed my old school and friends but this place grew on me. I always walked home from school, the city had many tall shiny buildings, and one day I was going to have my own shiny building. We had a small place in the glades but we had moved to the better part of the city last month with the detective when she got engaged to him. Quentin's ex wife moved to coast city, his daughters decided to stay with him making the living situation slightly uncomfortable for us. Laurel was more difficult to live with than Sara, with Sara you knew what to expect I had gotten good at reading her but Laurel was still unpredictable.

I will probably miss my dad every single day of my life but the man had walked out on us and does not deserve our devotion to him. Quentin can never replace my dad but I wanted my mom to have the happiness that she deserves. My mom got married to my dad when she was just eighteen years old and a year later she had me. I wanted her to get married; I wanted her to be happy again. Last year she started dating Lance, he was nothing like my dad but she had found love in him. He made her laugh; it had been so long since I saw a genuine smile on her face and that was enough for me.

"You don't think I am rushing into it?" My mom asked me her voice barely a whisper but it betrayed a sense of anxiety. She stood in front of me looking for an honest answer.

"Mom you have known him for nearly a year now." I replied evenly, I knew that she was rushing into it but I also knew they were right for each other in a weird way. I got up from my chair and stood beside her.

"Mom I have to tell you something, I feel that I don't tell you this often enough but you have to know this, you know that I don't wear my heart on my sleeves." I needed to get this off my chest.

"Honey you are rambling." She eyed me with confusion. I always ramble when I am nervous. She was looking at me with searching eyes, wondering what was making me nervous.

"You work so hard mom, you always put me ahead of everything else." I paused and tried to control myself from veering off the topic; it was hard for me to speak out the words.

"I am a big girl mom I can take care of myself, I want you to just stop worrying about me and live your life." She waited patiently for me to finish.

"And one more thing, I love you mom." She hugged me with such warmth, I felt my eyes tear.

"I love you too honey, you are the best daughter anyone could have asked for." She pecked my cheek. Just then I saw Aunt Libby come in.

"Watch the dress you two." She reprimanded affectionately. We both instantly moved away from each other, surveying any damage we could have inflicted on the gorgeous Vera Wang gown. I sighed in relief, the gown was still intact.

"Donna you are short of a bridesmaid, Laurel has refused to show." Aunt Libby told my mom her tone was now filled with bitterness. My mom's forehead creased with worry. Laurel still blamed my mother for the divorce, I had transferred to the same school as the Lance sisters and unfortunately I was in the same grade as Laurel, sometimes my above average intelligence was a huge pain in the ass. She was the princess of Starling High and she made sure that I remained an outcast. I was labeled as the freaky Goth that sucked the soul out of anyone who talked to me. Sara had tried to help me, she invited me over to her table during lunch I have never been more grateful, at least there were no more taunts and jibes directed at me during lunch. I am sure Laurel didn't approve, lucky for me Sara didn't care much for Laurel's approval. Laurel and her minions had been giving me a hard time ever since my mother started dating Quentin. She still wanted her parents to get back together. I wouldn't exactly blame her, any child in her situation would have wanted the same. Being in the same grade as her for the past year I had picked up a thing or two about her, she was extremely stubborn a trait that she shared with her sister and she always got what she wanted no matter what it was.

"I don't know what to do anymore Libby, she hates me." My mom sighed, she wanted this marriage to work she had even tried to befriend Laurel, asking her to be one of the bridesmaid but Laurel was just being her bitchy self.

"Don't worry mom once she sees how great you are, she will love you. She just needs some time." I reassured my mother. She was still bitter about her parent's divorce; I was sure she will accept my mother once she got to see how much my mother loved her. Just then I heard the door open again. I saw Uncle David walk inside. He cleaned up well for the wedding.

"Donna we are on in five minutes, and guess who showed up." He told us with a beaming smile, I saw Laurel and Sara walk in behind him, I was pretty sure I had heard aunt Libby gasp in shock, well I certainly shared that sentiment.

"Sorry I am a little late." She told us sheepishly.

"You are here that's all that matters." My mom told her as she hugged her tightly. She stiffened for a moment before returning the favor. The girl did have a heart after all, looked like living with her just got a lot easier.

My mom was now bustling with excitement her earlier nervousness forgotten. Uncle David was walking my mom down the aisle today. All of us hurried out and took our positions, the Lance wedding was about to begin.

The ceremony took place without a hitch, I saw my mother swaying with Quentin on the dance floor. Everyone was drunk with happiness. I sighed, no more sleepless nights planning a wedding. I saw Sara dancing with Tommy Merlyn, his goofy smile was infectious; she let out a small shriek when he dipped her. I saw Quentin glaring at the dancing couple, my mom was whispering furiously to him with an amused grin. I was pretty sure she was trying to diffuse his over protective tendencies; times like these I wondered what kind of relationship I would have had with my father if he were here.

The newlyweds walked towards me, they truly made a handsome couple.

"Come on honey dance with us." My mom tried to drag me onto the dance floor, the same dance floor that I had successfully evaded until now.

"Mom! Two left feet remember." I whined, I looked ridiculous and I didn't want to make any more a fool out of myself.

"You can't be that bad kiddo." Quentin extended his hand, he had no idea that my dancing can be used as a weapon to wound enemies.

"I am bad, catastrophically bad, once grandpa landed up in a cast because of it." I was a roll today, he held his hand up in surrender.

"That was not your fault honey." My mom consoled me.

"Yeah well nana didn't think so." I grumbled.

"Well my mother is an old coot." She laughed at that memory. My own mother was mocking me, I grew grumpier. Dancing skills was one more thing that I had not inherited from my mother.

"Have you seen Laurel, I haven't danced with her yet." Quentin interrupted my train of thoughts. That was my out.

"Let me go find her for you." I heard my mother laughing behind me, I will have my revenge on her just not today. Laurel had disappeared after the ceremony. My mother had wanted an outdoor wedding; this farmhouse was possibly the best location available, it was far away from the city surrounded by lush green trees. I was sure Laurel was still on the property, she would have needed someone to drive her back wouldn't she? I made my way to the back yard, the music from the reception hall was barely audible. I heard an angry voice, before I could call out her name I saw them. Oliver Queen had her trapped between his arms, her back rested on the large oak tree in the backyard. The man whore, the most sought after guy in Starling High. He had slept through more than half the female population in school, I am pretty sure he didn't restrict his scoring ground just to Starling High. Reports of his wild party habits were a regular in the tabloid, latest had been him peeing on a cop car. How could one get away with so much? Why am I even wondering I know the answer to that too, devastating blue eyes, a face that looked like it had been sculpted to perfection and a body…. Well let's not go there and it also helped that he was a Queen, not the gay queen not that there was anything wrong with being gay but if he were gay he wouldn't be here looking at Laurel like he was going to devour her, but the richest family in the city. He was her on again and off again boyfriend, I was unaware of their current status. Damn he looked good; it was unfair how good he looked in just his jeans and a green hoodie. While this dress looked hideous on me it looked gorgeous on her, her long legs luscious brown hair, she looked like a model and they truly did make one stunning couple.

She pushed him away from her and he let her.

"What are you doing here Ollie?" She demanded angrily.

"You weren't answering your phone." He retorted back.

"So you decided to crash my dad's wedding?" She accused, the argument was heating up quickly. I was sure she would not appreciate me eavesdropping on their conversation. I was trying to make my way back quietly.

"Don't pretend you care about your dad marrying some Vegas stripper." His voice was eerie calm. His words made me pause, I had half a mind to march up there and punch him in the face. The tabloids were right he was truly a dick. An arrogant prick!

"I need you to stay away from me Ollie." She spat furiously.

"I am truly sorry Laurel." He apologized quickly.

"You fucked Sandra, she was my best friend Ollie, and how do you expect me to forgive that?" She demanded her voice cracking; tears were streaming down her face. I felt bad for her; the girl had fallen deeply and madly in love with a playboy and he was tearing her heart apart. I shouldn't be a witness to such a private conversation, I needed to get away right now, I kept my eyes on the way ahead but I looked at the couple who were still unaware of my presence, just then I stepped on an uneven stone and tripped. I want the earth to open up and swallow me, my face burned with embarrassment; I looked up and found two pair of eyes trained on me one furious and the other confused.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed….. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Help me please

**A special Thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

Laurel was miserable, she was making everyone around her equally miserable and I was the one who received most of her wrath. According to Sara this was the routine when she and Oliver were on one of their breaks. She did not appreciate me getting a look at one of her most vulnerable moments and she was indirectly punishing me by letting her minions loose on me. My mom and Quentin were on their honeymoon and Aunt Libby was babysitting the three of us, a job not a single one of us appreciated her for. We could take care of ourselves we didn't need a babysitter but Quentin stood firm on his decision, even Sara's colorful choice of words hadn't deterred him.

Friday nights are one of my favorite times in the week, it meant quite and peace which was hard to come by ever since we moved in with the Lance family. Luckily all of us had our own rooms, imagine if I were to sleep in the same room as Laurel, she would happily smother me with a pillow. This room was slightly bigger than my previous rooms, the one in Vegas and Glades. I found Sara's things scattered around in my room, she spent most of her time in here with me. She would come whenever she needed to vent about someone, when she needed help with home work, when she needed reassurance about how she looked even when she needed to confide in someone. I didn't realize I had been smiling the whole time I was thinking about Sara, I was truly happy that she had come to accept me, being an only child had been lonely and now with Sara I truly understood what was missing from my life.

But Friday nights are only me nights and I was going to enjoy them to the fullest. I rearranged the scattered parts on the low coffee table beside my bed; I had been building a computer from scratch. I had gotten the parts for it with the money that I made by waitressing and tutoring. This project had been put on hold for a long time, my free time was spent organizing my mother's wedding but now that it was over I was going to finish my baby.

I saw aunt Libby walk inside my room.

"Where are Laurel and Sara?"She looked panicked; she was taking this guardian job way too seriously. It was a Friday night and the girls were out partying, they had sneaked out an hour ago. I was surprised that it took her so long to realize that they were missing. Now she was furious. She crossed her arms and stared at me, hey I was not the one who snuck away! The Lance sisters had not appreciated being babysat by their step mother's sister. They intentionally made her mad, they both were grounded for breaking curfew last night. Now it was up to me, should I snitch on them or not?

"Laurel is at her study group and Sara is at the library." I lied, I was glad that I hadn't stumbled on my words but I could feel a flush creep up my neck.

"Sara in a library?" She snorted in disbelief, Fuck! Everybody knew Sara was not one of the brightest students.

"The mid terms are coming up, she has a lot to catch up." I offered meekly, it was a terrible lie to begin with and I was effectively making it worse.

"Really? Laurel is at her study group is she now?" She asked me skeptically. I shrugged nonchalantly, getting flustered will make me babble and give away the lie. I counted to ten before I spoke again.

"You know how anal she is about her grades." I retorted.

"Now that one I can believe." She replied with a smile, I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

"I am all for having fun I just wish they would just talk to me." She told me tiredly, I know she was trying her best to make them like her but it was an uphill task. I knew she just wanted to go back home, she was pretty sick of babysitting three teenage girls. Two more days and the newlyweds would be back from their honeymoon.

"They hate us aunt Libby." I whispered quietly. I looked down at the table unable to meet her eyes. Laurel was making me miserable at school and I don't think I could handle the harassment much longer, I wanted her to like me on her own terms. I could tell my guidance councilor, the principal, my mother or Quentin but I really didn't want her to get into trouble and that would make her hate me even more.

"That is not true Lis." She gave me a warm hug, it reminded me of my mom and made me miss her.

"I thought you were getting along with Sara." She was running soothing circles on my back. I nodded my head.

"She is pretty cool." I replied honestly. She moved away and wiped my tears, I hadn't realized I had been crying.

"I am proud of you, I thought you were going to rat them out." She teased.

"Well that's what siblings do right? Cover for each other?" I teased back.

My stomach took that exact moment to grumble loudly. Both us couldn't help the laughter that erupted seconds later.

"Let's feed you." We both made our way to the kitchen, both of us were terrible cooks and mission make dinner was abandoned after two failed attempts at cooking spaghetti.

I sat in the living room couch my stomach full; the Chinese takeout had been delicious. I heard aunt Libby rummaging through the things in the living room desk. I was too lazy to care.

"Oh crap! I left the file at home." I heard her frustrated voice.

"Something wrong?" I asked her, she looked worried.

"I need to quickly run home; I left an important file that I need tomorrow." I she told me as she hurried into the guest room to get ready.

"But tomorrow is a Saturday." I yelled out.

"Tell that to my boss." I heard her muffled reply from behind the doors. She had changed out of her pajamas into jeans and a shirt.

"I will be back in twenty minutes, will you be alright?" She asked me as she bustled around the living room trying to find her bag.

"No, a serial killer might break in and kill me." I deadpanned. She stopped to look at me.

"Very funny young lady, I am on the floor laughing my ass off." She retorted back with a poker face. It made me giggle a little. She paused at the door.

"When will the girls be back?"

"In an hour." Sara had texted me, the party blew and they were thinking of getting back early.

"Ok be safe."

I tried to surf through the available options on TV, nothing captured my interest. Oh well my baby was waiting for me. Time to get back to her.

The loud banging of the front door made me stop in my tracks. Did Libby forget her keys? What's with the rude banging?

I threw the door open a little irritated with the incessant banging, the sight in front of me surprised me into silence. He looked even better up close.

"You are not aunt Libby." The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"And you are not Laurel." Came his sluggish reply. Wow he was drunk like a skunk. His eyes were drinking in my body. I looked down at my pajamas, I was wearing dark sleeping shorts and a doctor who t shirt. My legs were exposed to his perverted eyes. I suddenly felt flushed in embarrassment. I looked up, he had an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Hi I am Oliver Queen." His air of confidence was undeniable, even when he was drunk through the roof.

"I know who you are Mr. Queen." I bit back, I was not going to let him intimidate me.

"Of course you do, everybody does." He grinned at me. He really was full of himself, unbelievable. Before I could complain he pushed past me into the living room. A pretty brunette followed him, she looked much older than him. I quickly closed the door behind me and followed them. Oliver Queen plopped down on the couch like he owned the damn place. I couldn't believe I found someone like him attractive.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded the brunette.

"I am Cindy." She replied cheerily, she extended her hand for a shake. Couldn't she feel the hostility in the air? Or was she too dumb to notice? I reluctantly shook hands.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, aunt Libby would be back any minute now and it would not be a pretty picture if she finds him here. She can be quite the force when needed.

"Hey don't ask me I am just the designated driver." She had a blank expression on her face, I had no time to deal with her. It was hard to believe that she would naively follow him anywhere, well money and fame could be a pretty strong motivator.

"What are you doing here Mr. Queen?" I asked him, he was busy drinking from a flask I was sure it was not pumpkin juice that he was gulping down. He ignored me, it raised my ire.

"What are you doing here Mr. Queen? I raised my voice to get his attention.

"No Mr. Queen is my father no scratch that, it is my grandfather." He sneered at me. Oh dear Lord!

"Fine what are doing here Oliver?" I needed him out of this house right now. If Quentin found out he would be a dead man walking, a Queen or no Queen.

"I am not leaving until I talk to Laurel." A saddened expression filled his face, how was that I was ready to smack him one minute and console him the next?

"And you think showing up here with her would solve your problems." I couldn't help but snap at him. What was he thinking? Did he really think showing up drunk in the arms of another woman would make Laurel swoon? He should know better.

"I haven't fucked her." He paused and eyed the brunette next to him. "Yet." He added with a leer, wow I really wanted to kill him. Was this some kind of test?

"Keep an eye on him I will be right back." I ordered Cindy, who just pouted at me. I needed my phone, I ran up to my room and found what I was looking for. I needed reinforcement. I called Sara she would know what to do. She was not answering her phone.

"Pick up your phone Sara." I prayed, I groaned out loud when it went straight to voice mail. Luckily I just knew the person who could help me. He answered on the second ring.

"Tommy." I let out a sigh. I was relieved I didn't know what I would have done if he hadn't picked up.

"Hey this is Felicity, Felicity Smoak." I told him.

"You know how I love to entertain you Smoak but now is not a good time." I heard his clipped voice, the Tommy Merlyn I knew was filled mirth. Then realization dawned on me.

"Why? Looking for something?" I couldn't help but tease a little.

"Do you know where he is?" He asked me anxiously, seemed like the hunt for Oliver Queen had been going on for a while. I walked into the living room and found a passed out Oliver Queen on the couch and a flighty brunette fussing over her appearance as she stood in front of the mirror in the living room.

"Passed out on our couch." I grumbled.

"Is Laurel there?" He asked me.

"Luckily for him she is out, she will be back soon Tommy."

"I will be there in five." He hung up, I hoped he made it here before anyone else.

I spent the next few anxious minutes pacing in front the couch. The door bell rang, I really hoped it was Tommy and no one else. Luck was on my side, it was Tommy on the other side.

I pulled him in and locked the door behind.

"Well hello to you too Smoak." He mocked.

"Save the charm for later Merlyn, first you need to get him out of here." I was angry, I did not want to be a part of this messy drama.

"Who the hell is she?" He asked me eyeing the brunette in the living room.

"His designated driver." The brunette remained oblivious; she sat there on the couch meddling with her phone, giggling to herself. Well one thing was obvious; Oliver Queen had poor taste in women.

"He brought her here?" He was furious, the anger in his voice made me fear for Oliver. He took a deep breath before he reigned in his emotions. He tried to rouse Oliver who was out stone cold.

"Help me." Tommy pleaded.

"Fine." I reluctantly joined him. I was doing this for Quentin; I really did not want him to go to jail.

We had just managed to raise him up, when I heard voices outside the front door. Apparently aunt Libby had caught the Lance sisters trying to sneak in, we could hear them arguing.

"We need to get him to the back door." Tommy whispered to me, Oliver was heavy, was that all muscle? We were struggling to hold him upright.

"We can't, it is locked, the back yard is being remodeled." I told him, it was Quentin's gift to my mom, a beautiful backyard just like she wanted. Tommy looked at me with disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" He growled irritably.

"I wish I was not." I apologized.

"You." He spoke to the brunette, "You are my date understood? We are here to see Laurel." She bobbed her head to him, guess that problem was sorted.

"Where is your room?" He asked me, the voices outside were getting louder and louder.

"What? Why?" Why would he ask where my room was?

"We are going to hide him in your room." I think I heard him wrong, he was not joking was he?

"No, absolutely not." There was no way that was happening.

"Please help a brother out." He begged, how did I get into this mess again?

Oliver Queen was in my bed; gosh that was not how I intended to say it. Even in my head I embarrassed myself. I locked my room door, here is to hoping that he does not wake up until everybody is asleep.

"Call me when me when he is awake I'll come pick him up." He told me.

"You both owe me." I whispered to him.

"That we do."

We walked into the living, the brunette talking to Laurel. Sara and aunt Libby were in the kitchen discreetly trying to spy on them. Oh this can't be good.

"Oh! Tommy there you are I was just telling Laurel that we came here to talk to her." She slinked her way to Tommy and clung on to his arms. She was a good actor I will give her that much, she was not completely useless.

"What are you doing here Tommy why is Oliver's car out front?" Laurel snapped.

"You know why Laurel." He told her calmly. "I took away his keys; he was too drunk to drive home." Wow he was a good liar.

"I am tired Tommy I don't want to do this right now." She looked exhausted, I almost felt sorry for her.

"Alright, then let us get out of your hair." He made his way out with the designated driver. I was going to chew through my nails before the night was over. If Laurel ever found out, she would kill the three of us. Now I had to keep Oliver Queen undiscovered the entire night or until he woke up, whichever happened first.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed….. Let me know what you think.**


	3. Small Beginnings

**A reviewer suggested that I write from third person's POV, I will change to it in the future. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

Laurel and Sara were already in their rooms. Aunt Libby was in the living room watching some re runs. So far so good, just when I thought things were sailing along smoothly I saw Sara walking towards my room a jacket in her hand. She had borrowed my black leather jacket for the party. She had loved it, now I knew what to get her for Christmas. I needed to stop her from opening my door. I don't think Sara would appreciate what I have done; there was no way she would take my side over Laurel's. They say blood is thicker than water; I was not going to take any more chances tonight. I rushed ahead of her and blocked the way to my room.

"What are you doing?" She asked me, her face clouded with confusion.

"You can't go in there." I tried to keep a straight face, my heart was thrumming wildly.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why can't I go in there?" She demanded.

"I have computer parts lying all over the floor; I don't want you mixing them up it took me nearly two hours to sort them out." I told her firmly, a flash of hurt passed through her face. I felt guilt settle in the pits of my stomach.

"Alright, alright I won't touch your babies, here, thanks for lending them." She teased lightly, as she handed me my jacket. I felt awful now, lying to her did not feel good.

"Anytime, it's just that I really want to complete it tonight and I don't have time to rearrange the parts." God I was rambling again, my heart was going to leap out of my chest any moment now.

"It's alright shortie go play with your babies." She mocked me; I stuck my tongue out at her. I know it is juvenile but nobody makes fun of my babies. She was making her way to her room which was at the end of the hallway, I sighed in relief. She paused and turned around to look at me.

"You know if I didn't know you any better, I think you have someone stashed in there." She told me accusingly, my heart skipped a beat I felt a cold sweat breaking out. Why was I putting myself through this again?

"But you do know me better." I stuttered, my bravado all drained away. I was replied with a tinkling laughter.

"Night shortie." She called out before disappearing into her room. I rested my head against the cold wall, it felt good on my over heated face. I have aged ten years in ten minutes. I was going to kill Tommy tomorrow.

I locked my door; Oliver hadn't budged an inch on the bed. Where was I supposed to sleep now? Can I stuff him inside my closet? Bad idea, he weighed a tonne and I was not going to expend so much energy on him.

I couldn't take my eyes off of him, that's really creepy! There was something about him that intrigued me. Ogling a sleeping man? That was a new low. He was softly snoring; he looked so peaceful when asleep. He looked much older than his age. I could see dark circles under his eyes, why was he doing this to himself? If Laurel meant so much to him why would he cheat on her? Repeatedly?

I was not going to sleep on the bed with him; there was no way that was happening. I eyed the small ratty couch near the window; it had travelled all the way from Vegas to the Glades to here. My mom wanted to throw it away but I refused to let it happen, there was no space in the room and I had traded a desk for that ugly old thing but it held too many memories, memories of my dad playing with me on the couch. Dwelling on them would make me feel dejected, I suppressed them I can sulk later, I had work to do.

I pulled the covers over him, his shoes were off Tommy must have gotten them. I got extra blankets from the closet and settled into the couch, it was going to be a long and cramped night. I sneaked another peek at him; so many girls would kill to trade places with me.

I was too comfortable, I was lying face down on my bed. My back was killing me and there was a slight pain in my neck. I snuggled further into my pillow, my bed was warm and cozy. It was a weekend and I can afford to sleep a little while longer, my bed?

I sat up too quickly, I almost stumbled off the bed before a strong pair of arms steadied me. I yelped in panic, I felt a hand clamp over my mouth. I felt disoriented and muddled.

"Don't scream." I heard his hurried voice. My eyes snapped up and went wide; I was no longer feeling the drowsiness that was pulling me under. I saw him above me, how did we get ourselves into such a compromising position? I could feel his body heat through our clothes; I could feel the hard planes of his body and felt myself flush under his penetrating gaze. I gulped loudly; it was not doing my dry throat any favors. He was sporting a smug grin at my bodily reactions. I nodded fervently desperate to get away from him. He eased me back into the bed and released my mouth, wow that definitely sounded dirty.

I saw him relax, I distinctively remember falling asleep on the couch.

"How did I get here?" Despite being on high alert my voice was a hoarse whisper, apparently my throat had not caught up to my brain yet.

"That couch does not look comfortable." He answered; he was eyeing the couch with disdain. Had he moved me to my bed, which was wrong on so many levels.

"And you thought sleeping in the same bed as you will be." I snapped, I was not a morning person. I needed coffee before I subjected myself to the worldly horrors. How was he not hung over? His head should be killing him.

It was still dark outside; I needed to get him out before the rest of the house woke up. I couldn't remember where my phone was. I got out of my bed; I needed to put some space between us.

"I already called Tommy, he is on his way." I heard him behind me; I turned around and looked at him. He was spread out on my bed, with a cocky grin on his face. How was he so comfortable in a stranger's bed? Guess he had plenty of experience in sleeping in stranger's beds.

"I am surprised you remembered where you were." I told him.

"I thought I was in Mindy's place, then I saw you hanging off the couch." He told me, his indifference was unbearable.

"Cindy, her name was Cindy." I muttered in frustration, he even got her name wrong.

"Don't worry Tommy handled her." He told me.

Tommy was his friend not his chauffeur, was it always like this? Tommy cleaning up after him?

"You know most women would be thrilled to wake up in my arms." He smirked, looked like I really needed anger management classes because I was moments away from murdering him.

"I am not most women." I retorted resolutely.

"Says most women." He was a conceited prick who needed to be told off.

"You are not my type Mr. Queen." I retorted instantaneously.

"Don't worry you are not mine either." He scoffed. I had nothing nice to say to him any more.

"I can hear your brain over thinking things." He must have sensed my uneasiness.

"Do you always treat your friends like this or is Tommy the special one." I asked, it came out a little more harshly than I intended it to. I saw the transformation happening, he stiffened and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. It was like he had slid on a mask.

"You don't know anything about me and Tommy." His voice dangerously low, he sat up and looked at me.

"I know enough Mr. Queen, Tommy is always cleaning up after you." I accused him, someone had to tell him the truth. For the little while I had known Tommy, he had been busting his ass getting his friend out of messy situations. I vividly remembered the sleeping with the bride a day before her wedding fiasco. Why was I doing this? How Oliver Queen chooses to live his was up to him. I bit my tongue; mornings were truly not my time of the day.

"I never asked him to." He roared, I was shook by his explosive outburst.

"Keep your voice down, you will wake up Laurel." I whispered. An uncomfortable silence loomed over us.

"I am sorry it was not my place to say anything." I apologized, it was none of my business, Tommy was a grown man he can take care of himself.

"You are right, it is not your place. Do you even have friends of your own? If you had one you would know how that relationship works." Came his curt response. I don't know why but it stung a little.

Thanks to his ex girlfriend I was persona non grata. I was not going to let his words get to me, I brushed it aside. That uncomfortable silence was back again. His phone started ringing saving us from any more pain.

"It's my cue, I will let myself out." He told me, this awkwardness was suffocating.

"I will come with." I told him, I needed to make sure he does not run into anyone. We silently made our way to the front door, the Lances were deep sleepers and apparently Aunt Libby was one too. A cold breeze hit us as soon as I opened the door, I shivered a little. Looked like the winter was near. I saw Tommy standing in the porch, how did he look so good this early in the morning? He gave me a warm smile, and this cheery too? Oliver was deliberately ignoring me but I was way past caring.

"Morning Gorgeous you look wonderful." He teased me.

"Bite me." I growled, I was in no mood for his brand of cheeriness now.

"Don't pout princess it does not look good on you." He teased again, I clenched my teeth in irritation. He sobered up when he saw the annoyed expression on my face.

"Thank you for saving his ass last night." He told me, Oliver was still a mute spectator to the both of us. I just realized that the arrogant jerk hadn't even thanked me yet.

"I was doing it for Laurel." I replied evenly.

"Let's go Tommy it's pretty cold out here." He took off without a backward glance, what was I expecting from him? I sighed, it was turning out to be a shitty morning.

"See you later beautiful." Tommy tried to catch up with him.

"You are not driving Ollie." I heard Tommy arguing with him. Well good luck to Tommy he will need it dealing with that pigheaded jerk.

It had been days since that night. I did not see Oliver much and the few times that we actually managed to bump into each, we ignored each other. Laurel and Oliver were still broken up, apparently this was their longest break. Sara was confident that they would get back together by the end of the year. Laurel's minion had eased up a little but that made me uneasy, it was like the calm before the storm.

I was tired I was on my feet for nearly four hours now, my mom wanted me to quit working here but somehow this place had become an integral part of my life and the employees got free burgers, nothing can beat that. And I could use the money to buy spare parts. I walked into the employee's area; the room was filled with loud wailing. I found little AJ crying his heart out, Carly's effort to soothe him were turning out to be futile.

"Thank God you are here." Carly cried out in relief, she looked terrible.

"What's wrong why is he crying so bad?" I asked her as I approached them. She was sitting on a bench at the end of the small room; she was cradling AJ in her lap.

"He is teething, he is running a fever since morning and I couldn't find a sitter." She told me, AJ continued to sob in her arms.

"Oh." I had no experience with babies, honestly they terrified me.

"Felicity can you cover for me?" She requested.

"Sure." I answered without thinking.

Three hours later I was cursing myself. I was struggling to get all the orders out in time, it did not help that Big Belly was in full capacity tonight.

I have never worked the last shift, the walk back home could get pretty bad at this time of the day. Sara and Laurel were in Coast city visiting their mother, my mom was working late and I had not been able to reach Quentin. I chewed on my lips, looks like I had to hitch a ride with one of the employees.

The place was finally winding down, one more table and I would be done, a young girl was sitting all alone in her table, she looked familiar but I couldn't place her.

"Felicity" She read my tag, "It's a pretty name." It did feel nice to be complimented.

"What's your name? It's only fair I know yours."

"It's Thea."

"It's a pretty name too." I told her, she beamed at me proudly.

"I like your hair, it so shiny." She told me making me blush a little.

"Hey sweetie are you here by yourself?" I couldn't help but be concerned, it was pretty late for a kid her age to be out alone.

"No I am with my brother." She replied. I looked around and I couldn't spot said brother.

"Where is he?"

"Probably making out with Hillary in the back alley." She replied coolly. I was stumped I had nothing to say.

"I was just walking her to her car Thea." I heard his voice before I saw him. She just sniggered at him.

"Thea what have I told you about talking to strangers?" He reprimanded her gently.

"She is not a stranger Ollie, I know her name and where she works." She retorted, she was a smartass that me smile a little.

"Thea have you ordered yet?" He asked her as he sat next to her

"No, not yet I was waiting for you." She pouted at him, way to guilt trick him girl. I would have high fived her if I could.

He sat there pretending like he didn't know me, fine, if that's how he wanted it to be. I took their orders; my eyes kept darting back to their table. He looked so much happier when he was interacting with her, much more playful. It was like he was another person, I could see how much they both loved each other.

Finally I was done for the day; my attempts to hitch a ride had ended up in failure. It was just a couple of blocks I can do this; I have walked these roads a million times. It was just a little deserted at the moment; nothing was going to happen I kept chanting it to myself. I was so focused on the road ahead I hadn't heard the car pull up beside me. The honk made me nearly jump out of my skin.

"Get in." He barked at me. We were done ignoring each other? I was livid, I was about to give him a piece of my mind before I saw Thea in the backseat. I realized it was probably her idea to give me a ride.

"It's alright I just live a couple of blocks away." I told Thea.

"Ollie wouldn't mind driving you home, would you Ollie." She asked her brother, he sighed.

"I would love to." He always gave in to her didn't he?

"Come on Felicity." Thea urged again, it was a really tempting offer. My fear of darkness won and I gratefully accepted the ride.

"I need to drop Thea off at QC first." He told me, I nodded in understanding.

We dropped her off, I promised to see her again. She wanted me to attend her birthday party, but I don't think her brother would want me to. The drive was uncomfortable neither of us ready to break the silence yet. He stopped in front of our place, I got out quietly. He walked me to the door. His actions confused me; one minute he was a pompous prick the next a gentleman who was the real Oliver?

"Thanks for the ride I am sorry you got roped into it." I told him regretfully.

"You really have a low opinion of me." He scowled.

"I don't understand." I was baffled, what was he talking about?

"I would have gotten you into the car kicking and screaming, if had to." I saw a real smile on his face.

"Well it's good that we avoided unneeded drama." I told him.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot would you like to start over?" He asked me, his earnestness surprised me.

"I would like that." I agreed with him.

"Hi I am Oliver Queen."

"Felicity Smoak." I had no idea how drastically my life was about to change after that moment.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed….. Let me know what you think...And for those who are wondering the Bratva part of the story begins in chapter 7.**


	4. I am Remarkable

**Thank you for all your support. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

I scrolled through the website for the third time today, why haven't they posted it yet? I even tried to hack their site; apparently the committee members were still deliberating their choices for the full scholarship award. This limbo was killing me, I can't afford going to MIT without the scholarship. There were thousands of applicants for the scholarship and today they were supposed to put out the final list of candidates who were still in contention. I knew I was on the top of their list but there were other candidates who had better credentials than me. What if I didn't make the list?

I sighed in frustration; I didn't have a backup plan. If I didn't get into MIT I didn't know what I was going to do. Maybe take a year off? It was a Saturday and I had nothing better to do, I curled into a ball in my bed. Screw it! If didn't get in I can always go to Starling University. My mom and Quentin were out on a date. Laurel was out, I had no idea where.

I heard Sara entering my room; she was putting on a fashion show for me. She had a hot date and hence the fashion show.

"What are you doing?" She asked me slightly amused.

"I am trying to telepathically communicate with the committee members." My voice muffled by the pillow lying on my face.

"Stop worrying I am sure you will get in." She reassured me; she pulled away the pillow and offered me a hand to sit up.

"I wish they would tell me already and put me out of my misery." I complained, this anxious waiting was getting to my head.

"If anyone deserves it, it is you." Her confidence in me felt good.

"I wish it were that easy." I whined.

"Have some faith Felicity." She comforted me again.

"How does this one look?" She twirled in front of me. She was wearing a tight little red dress, her boobs almost spilling over, how was she even able to breathe in it?

"Is that laurel's dress?" I was sure the dress was two sizes too small.

"Uh hhh." She nodded.

"She is going to kill you." I warned, Laurel was never the one to share.

"What she doesn't know won't kill her." She replied nonchalantly.

"So what do you think?" She asked me as she slowly twirled again.

"Do you want to be groped on the first date?" I teased.

"Fine the next one then." She walked away exasperated, this was the seventh dress she had tried on.

"Sara you better hurry up if you don't want to be late, I liked the second one the best." I called out loudly. She had less than an hour to get ready. I start my shift at Big Belly in three hours; maybe I could nap for a while.

I heard the phone ringing in the living room followed by Sara's hurried footsteps to get to it; this date had her really excited. I sighed wistfully, must be nice to have someone be interested in you. My relationship with Oliver had improved in the past few weeks; we shared smiles and polite nods whenever we bumped into each other. I was slowly beginning to see the real Oliver, the one who loved his family, the one who would do anything for little Thea, the one who would give his life for Tommy, the one who was burdened by the society's expectation of him and the one who really did love Laurel.

Sara had finally settled on jeans and a nice blue top paired with a thick black pea coat. She looked chic and beautiful. It was not long before Sara rushed into my room, she looked worried.

"I need a favor." She told me apprehensively.

"Ok." What had her looking so jittery?

"Laurel asked me to do something and I kind of forgot." She hesitated.

"What is it?" I asked her, uneasiness engulfed me.

"I need you to drop these off at Tommy's." She handed me a cover.

"Sara." I groaned. It was cold outside and I really didn't want to walk around in it.

"I will make you your hot chocolate for a week." She bargained. It was a weak bribe and I was not going to fall for it.

"Ok two." She went on at the lack of my response.

"Fine a month." She growled.

"Now we are talking." I told her gleefully, a month of hot chocolate was definitely a good deal.

"You suck." She retorted in mock anger.

"What are these anyway?" I asked her as I examined the cover, seemed like it contained some documents.

"College applications." She told me distractedly, she was standing in front of my closet trying on my scarves.

"Sara did you look in?" I scolded.

"She is not going to send him nude photos Felicity." She teased. Why did she have to say that?

"Gross! Now I have weird images running through my head." I complained, she laughed at the scandalized look on my face.

"College applications?" I asked her again, I thought Tommy didn't want to go college.

"Yes, Brown, CU, NYU, the colleges she applied to." She told me as she tried on my jackets now.

"But didn't Tommy want to open his own night club?" Tommy had been planning it for a year now. He even had the business proposal ready that he was going to pitch to his father.

"It's Tommy Felicity." She gave me knowing look, Tommy has known to be indecisive but he seemed to be very serious about this nightclub idea. What changed his mind?

"Can't you ask Tommy to come pick it up?" I asked her.

"He is in China, won't be back for a week." She told me, she plopped down on the bed beside me.

"Then why would I have do it today?" I asked her. I was confused, if Tommy was not in town he wouldn't mind me delivering them tomorrow would he?

"Because Laurel said so." She told me with an amused grin.

"That explains it." I teased back. We heard the door bell ring, Sara was bursting with excitement.

"Wish me luck." She asked me, I have never seen her this way, filled with trepidation.

"Go knock him off his socks." I cheered her.

"The key to his place is beneath his floor mat, I will text you the address." She called out from the living room.

"Alright." I yelled back. Beneath his mat? How did he not get robbed yet?

I sighed, my plans to laze around was not going to happen anymore. I checked the website; the results were still not out. I huffed in irritation.

I bundled up in my warmest clothes, time to get to work. Tommy's bachelor pad was just a couple of blocks away from Big Belly at least that worked out well for me. I have never been to his place but I have heard plenty about it but nothing could have prepared me for the monstrosity in front of me, this was his bachelor pad? It was a freaking big mansion. How did he go about cleaning this place? The enormously rich are unbelievably spoilt.

I found the key beneath his mat just like Sara said. I let myself in, I couldn't shake away the sense of foreboding that filled me.

I walked into the living room. The place was a mess, Tommy was such a slob. But something didn't seem right. Oh shit! It had been ransacked; there was broken glass everywhere, furniture out of place. I was kidding about it being robbed. I reached for my phone, I had to call 911. I heard footsteps, were the intruders still here? My heart was racing, I was terrified and then I saw him. The sight in front of me made my heart clench.

"Oliver." I called out softly. He looked surprised to see me there.

"Felicity, What are you doing here?" He sounded so broken.

"Sara wanted me to give Tommy this." I waved the cover for effect and tossed it on the table in front of me. He nodded in understanding. He looked terrible; there were cuts and bruises on his face. His shirt was torn at places. What had caused him to trash this place? Now we can add vandalism to the mist of his crimes.

We stood there silently looking at each other, I saw his knuckles, did he punch through glass with his bare hands?

"Oliver you are bleeding." I told him, his blood was dripping onto the carpet below. I gulped loudly, I felt queasy and light headed, I never dealt with blood well.

"I didn't notice." He told me quietly. I contemplated my next move, I can't leave him alone when he looked like this.

"Change your clothes." I told him firmly. He stood there stubbornly refusing to move. I knew he was embarrassed to be caught like this, in a moment of weakness.

"I don't need your help." He snapped.

"Well tough luck, you are getting it any way." I told him decisively. He can either gripe and whine like a little boy or man up and face his fears. I saw his steely eyes before he rushed out of the room.

I needed to find the first aid box, there had to be one in the house. I tried four doors before I found the bathroom and voila there was a medical kit in the cabinet. I made my way back to the living room. Oliver had changed into new sweats; we spent a few awkward moments looking at each other. This was getting old!

"Sit." I ordered, luckily the couch had survived hurricane Oliver. He looked at me with irritation, I was not going to let that upset me. I knew it was just a façade to keep his vulnerability away from me. Men!

He sat down grumbling when he knew I was not going to budge. I sat beside him, the first aid kit was on the table in front of us, some band aids and Neosporin should do the trick.

"Give me your hands." I told him. I saw a smirk on his face. He was about to make a cocky comment wasn't he?

"Why Felicity I never knew you were so interested in holding my hands." I was not going to react to this; he was just trying to throw me off. I clenched my teeth; he was certainly testing my restraint.

"Hands Oliver." I asked him patiently. He reluctantly gave me his hands. I was trying hard not to think of how calloused his hands were. His knuckles were in pretty bad shape, bruised and bloodied. I needed to clean them first, I got the cotton and the antiseptic out of the first aid box.

I felt him wince but he did not pull away. I tried to be gentle, I blew on the wounds to take the sting away. Luckily he didn't need any stitches. I felt his intense gaze on my face, I kept my eyes on his hands too afraid to look up. The queasy feeling in my stomach was getting worse.

"How are you so good at this?" He asked me, his voice barely a whisper.

"I used to babysit this kid, Lena, her parents were both doctors, made me learn how to do first aid including CPR, God forbid their daughter got a scratch playing around." I told him, he chuckled. I kept working on his hands. Tending to the cut on his face was certainly challenging, I have never been this close to him before and it was certainly dizzying. I felt the soft skin of his face under my finger tips, I tried to touch him as little as possible. It was hard not to peek at his lips. Oh God I was in trouble, I almost broke into a sweat.

"There all done." I moved away from him, I needed to put some space between us. I packed up the kit and went to the bathroom to put it back. When I returned to the living room, Oliver was trying to clean up the mess. I expected him to have someone clean it for him.

"I do clean Felicity." He told me seeing the surprised look on my face. There was a hint of smile on his lips.

"You certainly do." I teased and for that I got full blown smile from him, a smile that reached his eyes.

"Need some help?" I asked him. He thought for a second before nodding. I took off my coat and got on with it.

"You take this side; there are broken glasses over there, you might get hurt." He told me, was he concerned about my well being? He was just looking out for an acquaintance. I am sure it was nothing, I shouldn't get carried away on big fat nothings.

An hour later we cleaned up the place to the best of our abilities. I plopped down on the couch tiredly, cleaning up was harder than trashing it. I shivered a little, this place was cold.

"Why don't you go make us some coffee, I will light up the fire place." He told me, I was sure he saw me shivering. He directed me to the kitchen, I looked around and this place was beautiful. The kitchen was clean and organized; I was now sure that Tommy had employees who cleaned up after him. There was absolutely no way Tommy was this organized.

It was not long before I walked into the living room with two mugs of Coffee in hand. Oliver was sitting in front of the fire place staring into the bustling crackling fire. He hadn't even heard me walk in.

"Oliver." I called out softly. He looked startled.

"Sorry, lots going through my mind." He told me apologetically.

"Here." I handed him a mug and sat down beside him. We sat there comfortably staring into the fire. I didn't know how long we sat like that. My coffee long finished.

"You have not asked me why." He broke the silence first.

"I figured you would tell me if you wanted me to know." I told him truthfully, he really didn't owe me an explanation.

"Aren't you the tiniest bit curious?" He teased me.

"I am but I know better than to push you." I told him, my answer sobered him up pretty quickly. All traces of humor vanished from his face.

"I am sorry I was an ass before." He told me earnestly. The look in his eyes made me feel uneasy, I felt my heart beating wildly. What was going on?

"You are forgiven." I teased unable find an appropriate reaction to his apology. He looked taken aback for a moment.

"It's my dad." He told me slowly.

"You don't have to tell me Oliver." I assured him.

"What if I want to?" He asked me cautiously. I couldn't look away from him, this was not good!

"Then I would love to hear it." I told him.

"I was ten when I saw him with another woman." He told me, pain and anger filled his eyes.

"I always knew he had other women in his life but mom always pretended to be happy in her marriage." He told me, he moved to lie in front of the fire place. I followed to lie next to him, he turned towards me. He looked defeated; the need to take him in my arms and console him was overwhelming. I clenched my fist; I can't go down that road no matter how badly I wanted it.

"You must have been terribly confused."

"I was but things got better the last couple of years." He told me, a myriad of emotions filled his face. I waited patiently; I knew he was gathering his thoughts.

"He was so focused on the QC branch in Russia, he worked so hard to get it up and running and I foolishly thought he done with his philanderer ways." He let out a bitter laugh.

"What happened to change your mind?" I asked him calmly.

"Isabel Rochev happened, all those hushed conversation on the phone, I should have known better." He spat furiously. I saw him seethe in anger. He took a deep to calm himself down.

"They have been together for three years, she is the reason he is been making these trips to Russia and now she wants to come here, to Starling and here is the kicker she wants him to get a divorce." He was visibly shaking now.

"Oliver how do you know this?" I asked him, was there a way he misunderstood the situation?

"I saw them together in my father's office, she was yelling that she needed more commitment." He told me, there goes my hope that this was some giant misunderstanding. My heart went out for him.

"I am so sorry Oliver." This was an awful situation, no wonder he had lashed out so badly.

"You know what is worse? She is barely older than me." He told me bitterly. It was getting worse by the minute. I didn't know how to respond to this.

"What if Thea finds out?" He asked me, he looked so scared. I saw his eyes glisten with unshed tears. I threw caution to wind and hugged him. He needed a hug that's all, there were no feelings involved. I felt his arms tighten around me. His warmth engulfed me, his scent filled my breath. "It will get better Oliver I promise." I murmured soothingly. He pulled away to look at my face.

"You are remarkable Felicity." He told me, his heated gaze made my insides tingle. The hard planes of his body rubbed deliciously against my body.

"Thank you for remarking on it." I whispered. I lost focus of everything except his lips which was slowly lowering down to mine. Was this really happening? My eyes closed shut.

My phone rang loudly making us jump apart. I flushed in embarrassment; I must have surely misread the situation. No way he was about to kiss me, why did I have this sinking feeling in my stomach?

 **I hope you guys enjoyed….. Let me know what you think.**


	5. Complicated Feelings

**Thank you for all your support. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

 **I have been loving season 4 so far…I hope it gets even better.**

"I need a break." He snapped his book shut. He jumped up and stretched out on the couch, I was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with my back resting on it. The view of Starling city from up here was quite spectacular.

"It's just been an hour Tommy." I complained. I was annoyed, no I was beyond annoyed.

"Don't give me those eyes Smoaky." He teased.

"I thought you wanted to graduate high school?" I was irritated; he was failing in all of his classes and wanted me to tutor him. Hence the tutoring session up in his penthouse. The penthouse was another one of his bachelor pads; I really really envied this guy.

"I do." He replied gruffly, his sudden desire to go to college confused us but it was going to be difficult considering his academic records. Tommy deserved all the happiness in the world and if he wanted to get into college I was going to help him in any way I can.

"And how do you suppose that's going to happen?" I retorted in exasperation. I knew he had a smart mind and could do wonders if he applied himself but he was barely focused for the past hour.

"I am going to ask my father to write a big fat check." He replied teasingly. Yes of course! How could I forget that he was stinking rich? I knew he just wanted to rile me up, teasing me was becoming a thing for him. I wanted to smack him on his head but the amused grin he was sporting was making it hard for me to do it.

"I thought you were going try the honest way?" I teased back. He told me that he wanted to do this without his father's help. He wanted to prove that he can be successful without the Merlyn name behind him.

"Honesty is overrated Smoaky." He told me gleefully. The over privileged had it easy. The bright smile on his face was melting away my anger. I sighed the world was not fair, who was I kidding? I can never get mad at Tommy Merlyn!

"You didn't even try Tommy." I complained. All of our books lay haphazardly around me, I tried to find my biology book in this mess. He sat beside me and tried to help me sort through them.

"I am way over my head Smoak." He told me quietly. I knew the exams were fast approaching and Tommy would have to work really hard if he needed to pass it.

"I told you this was a bad idea." His mocking voice grated in my ears. The silent spectator in the room spoke up, I refused to look at him. I had been avoiding him for a week but he had forced himself into this tutoring session. I could feel his burning gaze on my face but I refused to look at him. His mere presence here had me on absolute edge.

He was spread out on another couch on his stomach playing with his phone. He had tagged along with us after school. I still didn't understand why he was here? Didn't he have better things to do other than watch us study? He quietly watched us with intent eyes. I could feel his eyes boring holes in my face.

"I did not ask for your two cents." I growled, anger quickly rising in me.

I had avoided him like the plaque since our evening together in Tommy's place, that day a call from Carly had jolted us from the momentary lapse of judgment. Getting involved with Oliver Queen at any capacity would not bode well for me.

"It's a little too late to think about colleges Tommy." He drawled lazily as he sat up. He continued as if I hadn't just snapped at him.

"Maybe you are right buddy." Tommy sighed dejectedly beside me. Why was he doing this to Tommy? Didn't he realize how important this was to him?

"No he is not Tommy, there is nothing in the world you can't do." I told Tommy firmly, I honestly believed he could do this. There is no reason he should be discouraged from even trying.

"The ever optimist." His sarcasm made me furious.

"And you are the ever pessimist." I bit back heatedly, it was the first time I had looked into his eyes in a week, the emotions in them made me shiver a little.

"Stop, What's going on here?" Tommy admonished the both of us. He looked a little confused and surprised, if only he knew.

"He started it." I cried out in frustration.

"I am just stating the obvious Tommy." He replied in response, the eerie calmness in his voice made me angrier, as if that was even possible.

"The finals are weeks away Tommy you can make it if you work hard." I told Tommy defiantly. I grit my teeth hard, I didn't want to yell at anyone.

"Working hard is not our thing Tommy." He told him. I wanted to strangle Oliver, I have never felt so violent towards anyone. Oliver Queen had the capability to invoke strange emotions in me.

"Your thing maybe." I snapped.

"I have known him since we were both in diapers and you have known him for what two seconds maybe." He clenched his jaw, I could see rage bubbling inside him too. Before I could retort back I heard Tommy next to me.

"Ok! This seems to be less about me and more about you two." Tommy told us, I felt like someone had punched the air out of me, if I hadn't been sitting I would have definitely toppled over. Oliver huffed silently. Tommy was looking at us curiously, he was not one of the most perceptive guys but he had sensed the tension between the both of us.

Oliver's cell pinged right at the moment.

"I have to go pick up Thea." He told Tommy, avoiding even looking at me. It hurt a little but maybe this was exactly what I needed, to be irrelevant to Oliver.

"I will go, you two obviously need to talk." Tommy took off before Oliver could protest. With Tommy gone, we had nothing to say to each other. I started to pick up my books, I needed to get out of here if want my sanity intact. He just sat there silently looking at me.

"You have been avoiding me." He accused softly. I kept my focus on packing my things.

"I have been doing no such thing." I replied stubbornly.

"You won't even look me in the eye." He accused again raising his voice. I sighed, fine I will do it his way. I put my books on the couch and looked at him.

"See I am looking at you." I told him softly. I could see anger in his eyes, his fists were clenched tightly but there was another emotion on his face that I had not been expecting, Hurt.

"I thought we were friends." He asked me, his voice so low I could barely hear him.

"We are Oliver." I protested meekly. I felt my heart thudding wildly, why was this happening to me? He walked over to me and sat down next to me on the floor.

"Talk to me Felicity."

"Laurel hates me, she would be impossible if she finds out we are friends Oliver." I told him a lie that was almost close to the truth, the truth would be I no longer trusted myself with Oliver Queen.

"And you couldn't tell me this before." He smiled, he looked relieved. I had a queasy feeling settle in the pit of my stomach.

"I didn't want to ruin your chances of getting her back." I told him softly, it was definitely part of the truth. Whatever chances he had with Laurel would be decimated if she found out he was friends with me.

"Let me worry about that." He appeased me, the grin on his face made him look so attractive. He was sitting so close to me, I could feel his body heat. He was a walking furnace. All my dormant teenage hormones seemed to have woken up.

He was wearing a dark green button up shirt, making his eyes stand out. I focused my eyes away from him, I tried to sort through Tommy's books, I desperately needed a distraction.

"Am I ever going to know the story behind this?" He asked me, what was he talking about? I turned to look at him, he was playing with my hair. Damn! Why did I have to leave it open today? Should have gone with a ponytail!

"There is no story." I told him firmly.

"Nobody crosses over to the dark side without a good story behind them." He reasoned, a small smile played on his lips, the lips that I was close to tasting the other night. I gulped audibly, I was edging closer to the land of no return.

"Believe me it is not a good story." I grumbled.

"You don't trust people easily do you." He accused but there was a hint of playfulness and exasperation in his voice.

"That's rich coming from you." I teased back.

"I am better than you." He retorted swiftly.

The place was filled with an uncomfortable silence. He was still playing with my hair, I took a leap of faith and decided to trust him. There was something about him that made me want to believe in him.

"My dad walked out on us when I was eight." I told him, slowly disbelief replaced the playfulness on his face.

"I didn't know that." His low voice was filled with anger.

"Yeah, he took off one day and never came back." I told him, it was hard to keep the tears from spilling out, I did not want to seem weak. Oliver looked conflicted, he had no idea how to handle this piece of information. I couldn't help but give him a watery smile, he looked adorable trying to figure out the right emotion to display.

"Did you find out why he left?" He asked me, I hadn't realized when my hand had landed up in his, he was rubbing soothing circles at the back of palm. He really needed to stop that if he wanted me to keep my thoughts intact.

"No, I never wanted to." I told him. After I realized he had abandoned us I could never work up the courage to find out why he did it.

"You blamed yourself didn't you?" He asked me. I looked up and found him staring at me.

"Yes but I blamed my mother too, I rebelled against her dyed my hair black which she hated, made friends with some questionable people." I told him airily. I wanted to lighten the moment; all these heavy emotions were wearing down on me.

"Seems like something you would do." He teased a little, he must have realized that I was getting uncomfortable. I punched him lightly on his shoulder.

"You have known me for two minutes." I mocked back.

"Ouch that hurt." He protested. Our hands were still linked between us, it was hard ignore that anymore.

"You are such a baby." I retorted breezily.

"Don't call me that." He complained, he seemed a little annoyed. It amused me that he would take offence to this.

"Of all the names that I have called you, you don't like to be called a baby?" I couldn't help but laugh at that, he was looking at me like I had grown five heads.

"And what might these names be?" He looked surprised and slightly amused.

"Man whore, playboy, man slut, pretty boy, dumb jock, airhead just to name a few." Now he was sporting a full blown smile on his face. I was calling him names and was grinning like a fool, he must have been dropped head down when he was a baby.

"I call you names and you think it is funny?" I couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"You think I am pretty." He told me, I really wanted to punch the cocky smirk off his face.

"You decided to focus on that? You know most men would be offended at being called pretty."

"I don't mind being called pretty, I am confident in my sexuality." He replied with a hint of arrogance.

"Of course you are." I mumbled under my breath.

"Now Miss Smoak tell me how ticklish are you?" He asked me mischievously, I was panicking inside.

"Something tells me I shouldn't answer that." I replied cautiously.

"It is payback time." I tried to move away from him but I was too late. Damn his reflexes. He lunged at me.

All thoughts flew out of my head. I was being tickled all over, I could hear my maniac laughter, tears were streaming down my closed eyes.

"Stop stop." I begged him. I was still laughing maniacally. I was flat on my back, he held my arms above my head with one hand. I struggled to get free but he held me down, I was no match for his physical strength.

"Say you are sorry for calling me those names." He was laughing along with me. A surge of defiance shot through me.

"I will not apologize for something that is true." I grit my teeth.

"As you wish Miss Smoak." He continued his tickle attack on me. I was getting dangerously close to peeing myself.

"Alright alright, I am sorry." I spat out irritably.

"That's more like it." He grinned. He still held my arms above my head. I hadn't realized he was almost on top of me; it reminded me of the day in my bedroom. I flushed in embarrassment; I must look like a mess. I avoided his uncomfortable gaze; I could feel his breath on my face. He released my hands; I brought my hands down to push him away.

He stopped my hand from pushing him away and held it against his chest; I could feel the wild thrumming of his heart. I looked into his eyes in surprise; I couldn't be the reason for that could I?

He held himself away from my body with one hand, his other hand crept towards my face. I held my breath, I couldn't focus on anything other than his gorgeous blue eyes. I felt his heart sped up beneath my hand.

He wiped away the tears that had streamed down my eyes with the soft pad of his thumb. I unknowingly had been leaning into his touch.

"He is an idiot." He told me, his low voice sent tingles down my body. My brain had turned into mush.

"Who?" I asked him, I honestly had no idea who he was talking about.

"Your father." He whispered back.

"I am not sure that's true." I mumbled in protest.

"It is, he is an idiot for abandoning someone as amazing as you." He reassured me, this was a new side of him that I have never seen before.

"Ollie." A voice that did not belong to the either of us called out. I am sure my eyes had comically widened in shock.

We turned towards the direction from where we had heard the voice, I saw an angry Tommy with a slightly annoyed Thea looking down at us. We had been so preoccupied with each that we hadn't heard them come in.

We hurriedly scrambled to our feet. This cannot be happening, I know what it must have looked like to the both of them but nothing happened. Embarrassment burned through me, I must look like a ripe tomato right about now.

"It is not what it looks like Tommy." I tried to explain that this was a massive misunderstanding.

"I am listening Felicity." Tommy snapped.

"Tommy." Oliver warned him, they looked ready to bite off each other's head.

"Let's all go get some ice cream." Thea's cheerful voice broke through the hostility in the room. She was certainly a smart cookie.

"Sounds like a wonderful idea kid, why don't you go down with Oliver we will be right behind you." Tommy told Thea, I saw Oliver clench his jaw he was not happy with the idea. Oliver walked towards Tommy but Thea decided to intervene.

"Come on Ollie let's go." She was pulling at his hand, he looked at me worriedly.

"Go ahead we will be right down." I reassured him, he walked out with Thea after he shot a warning glare towards Tommy.

I heard the front door lock behind them. It was now just me and Tommy in here, he looked angry and disappointed.

"I swear nothing happened Tommy." I pleaded, I hated that he was disappointed in me. He did not respond, he just stood there looking at me.

"I swear we were just fooling around Tommy." My voice was a shaky whisper. I felt my eyes cloud with tears.

"Then why do you look so guilty Felicity?" He chided gently. It was now my turn to be mum.

"You are a great girl Felicity; I don't want you to be hit by a disaster that is Oliver." He reprimanded.

"How can you say that about your friend?" I retorted.

"He is my friend and I know him Felicity. In this fucked up love story anyone other than Oliver and Laurel always end up as collateral damage." He warned.

"It is not like that Tommy." I protested irritably.

"I am not blind Felicity, I just saw the way you looked at him."

"He is just a friend." I told him determinedly.

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself." I know he was concerned about me but there was nothing to be concerned about.

"You need stop worrying so much Tommy." I teased him.

"It is not a joke Felicity, don't fall in love with him." He told me seriously, his caution rang in my ears. My heart felt heavy. Why did it feel like someone had just kicked me in the gut.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed….. Let me know what you think.**


	6. Temptations

**A special Thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

"This dress is way too short Sara." I complained again. I tugged at the seams, this dress barely reached my mid thigh. Sara let out an irritated groan beside me.

"No it's not." Sara scolded lightly. My constant complaining had been getting on her nerves; none of her reassurances had appeased me. She was glaring at me in annoyance, I knew she would forcibly drag me to the party if she had to, I might as well save my energy.

I stood in front of the full length mirror in my room, I was wearing a little black lace number that was way too short for my liking. My pasty white skin stood out in stark contrast to the deep black of the dress. I really needed to get some sun on my skin, I was ghostly pale!

The push up bra that Sara had forced me to buy made my boobs look fuller than it actually was. This dress hugged my body tightly, I looked like my mother minus the bright blonde hair. I turned around to look at my back, I gasped out loudly making Sara laugh a little. This dress made my ass look enormous. I looked like a tramp! I really wanted to get out of this dress, this was not me!

Sara had tricked me into buying this dress and the matching lingerie for it, half of my hard earned money in the past year was spent on these ridiculously small pieces of clothing. It had been ages since I had worn a dress, the last time had been on my mom's wedding day and it had not been a pleasant experience. I felt extremely uncomfortable in it; this was going to be one long evening.

She was busy looking for the perfect lip shade for me, my choices were rejected by her. According to her all my choices were dark and depressing, she was determined to give me a makeover. I was dreading the outcome of this little experimental makeover, she was turning me into a complete stranger! She wanted me to dye my hair but I had stood firmly against it, which was where I drew the line. There was no way in hell I was going blonde!

"Why did I agree to this again?" I couldn't help but whine. She was rummaging through her makeup collection, contemplating between the choices that were available to her.

"Because I broke up with my boyfriend and I needed a distraction." She replied off handedly. They had been dating for barely two weeks; Sara seemed to like him a lot but the sudden break up still puzzled me. It came out of nowhere, I just realized that this was becoming a pattern with her, she would like a guy and jump into a relationship with him only to break up with him a couple of weeks later.

Clearly she was battling some issues but I didn't want to force it out of her, she was never the one to suppress her feelings and this really worried me. We had grown really close in these last few months and she had always been forthcoming about her problems to me but she was hiding something, I could feel something brewing within her. A girl like Sara keeping secrets was a bad thing. I really hoped she would talk to me soon.

She had been mopping about for a week now. There had been a lot of tears and movie marathons. I didn't get an opportune time to drill her for answers until now.

"What happened I thought you really liked him?" I asked her cautiously as I turned to look at her, she was wearing a short electric blue dress that enhanced all her curves. She looked like a million bucks. Her perfect blonde hair was cascading over her shoulders.

"I really wanted to like him." She replied dejectedly, she had me more confused than before. She plopped down on my bed suddenly looking too tired to stand on her feet.

"I don't understand." I moved to sit next to her on the bed. She let out a long sigh.

"I thought he might be the one to help me move on from him." She told me, her voice filled with agony. I saw her visibly shivering.

"Him? Who Leo?" I asked her, I didn't realize she had liked her previous boyfriend so much. He was a tool, I was quite happy when she broke up with him.

"Someone else." She whispered, I reached out to hug her, I felt her shivering in my arms.

"Sara, who is this guy? How long have you liked him?" I asked her, Sara was never the one to shy away from her feelings but apparently this mystery guy had her bunched up in knots. Sara was in an unrequited love, it felt strange knowing that the bold and beautiful Sara was not loved back, that someone had chosen over her!

"A little over three years." She mumbled into my shoulder, I rubbed soothing circles on her back. Wow! Three years? I hadn't realized that she had been pinning for someone for so long.

"Does he know?" I asked her confused, I really didn't know how to comfort her. Should I tell her to move on, that she was way too young to be hung up on one guy? She is a kid and that she will outgrow these feeling that she has for the mystery guy? Or should I tell her to win him over?

"No." She let out a panicked yelp.

"Why not?" I was in shock, three years was a long time to not tell a guy how she felt about him. Where was the strong courageous Sara whom I saw every day? It made me more curious.

"Let's just say that blondes aren't his type." She told me wistfully.

"That's ridiculous." I protested, I really didn't believe in that concept.

"One day you will change your tune and I will be there to watch it happen." She told me, a roguish smile played on her lips. I was glad that she was still pulling my leg. I smiled along with her.

"We will be late." She moaned in complain as she walked towards the dresser to fix her makeup. Curiosity was killing me, who was this guy?

"Sara who is he? Do I know him?" I voiced out my thoughts.

She turned around and looked at me. There was a brief moment of hesitation before she spoke again.

"Felicity I am not ready to talk about him, maybe someday I will tell you all about him." She told me softly.

"Alright." I conceded, she would surely talk to me if needed. I just wanted her to know that I am there if she ever needed me.

"He would never know how you feel unless you tell him Sara." I told her, I didn't want her to mess up her life because she lived under the delusion of a relationship that never existed to begin with.

"It's complicated." She told me, exhaustion filled in her voice.

"Here, I just found you your color." She handed me a bright red lip shade. No way, it was way too bright.

"I don't think this is my color Sara." I protested.

"Trust me I know what I am doing." She retorted confidently, the stubborn glint in her eye told me that I was not going to win this battle.

"Fine, give it here I can do it myself." I grumbled irritably.

"That's like a good girl." She teased, making my mood sour further. I moved to stand in front of the mirror and carefully applied the lipstick.

"My dad is going to drive us both, I will go to tell him that we are ready." She told me, I nodded in understanding.

I picked up my purse and the mask that was lying on my bed. This was my first masquerade ball, I was nervous and excited at the same time, everyone in Starling city knew about the legendary masquerade ball that the Merlyn's threw on Halloween eve. Tommy had been very insistent about my attendance, he just wouldn't take no for an answer.

I made my way down to the living room, my mom had her camera out. She was furiously taking pictures of Sara who didn't mind posing for her. I groaned, why did she have to do this? It was just a damn masquerade ball! She noticed me walking in.

"Oh look at my baby." She literally cooed, I wanted to bury my head in a foot of sand. I saw Sara smirking at me behind my mother.

"Oh look at her Quentin, so beautiful." She was gloating, somebody stop her please!

"You look nice honey." Quentin complimented me but he earned a swat on his arm from my mother.

"Nice? Nice? She looks Gorgeous." She argued, I saw Quentin grimace visibly. My mom moved towards me camera in hand.

"Mom can we not do this please." I protested weakly.

"Just a couple I swear." She told me, Sara wiggled her eyebrows at me. I wanted to kill her.

My mother's enthusiasm caught up with the both of us and we ended up posing for a lot more than a couple of pictures.

"You know I am not entirely comfortable with the idea of my girls going to that stupid party." Quentin complained to my mother. My mother threw him an exasperated look, I knew she was the one who had convinced him to let us go. Right now I wished Quentin hadn't fallen for my mother's persuading skills.

I spent the entire car ride laughing at Sara's crazy antics. Her taste in music was terrible, she sang along loudly making me and Quentin laugh out loud. Quentin stopped in front of the Merlyn mansion, it was a freaking palace! It was definitely a sight to behold.

"I am so excited." Sara let out a shrill shriek beside me.

"Remember the curfew girls." Quentin reminded sternly, he was gripping the steering wheel tightly. I knew he was itching to take us back home but he was too much of a coward to face my mother after that. Sara paid him no heed as she looked ahead, her eyes were shining with anticipation.

"Don't worry Quentin, Tommy said he would drop us." I told Quentin. We both got out of the car, looked like everyone who mattered in Starling city were here.

"Sara remember the rules." Quentin reminded her.

"No drinking, no smoking and absolute no sex. I remember them dad." She mocked him, she had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Right." He replied tightly.

We walked in, this place was huge. It literally reeked of money, the décor was modern and sleek. The mayor and the AD walked right past us, I felt out of place here. I should have turned Tommy's invitation down. I heard a low wolf whistle behind me.

"What a sight." I heard a cocky voice, we found a grinning Tommy behind us. He had cleaned up well, he looked dashing in his three piece suit.

"That's really classy Merlyn." Sara snipped at him.

"Hey I was just admiring God's creation." He told us cheerfully.

"Are you drunk?" I asked him, in my defense he did look a little dazed.

"I am drunk with happiness now that my two favorite ladies are here." He told us, his cheesiness was vomit inducing.

"Can I hit him?" Sara asked me, I know she was ready to beat him to a pulp.

"Sure, but it is his house Sara and there are too many witnesses." I teased her.

"Gee thanks for having back smoaky." He feigned hurt, he was clutching his heart as it was in pain. God wasn't he dramatic?

"Don't make me rethink saving you Merlyn." I deadpanned.

"What can I get you two lovely ladies to drink?" He asked us.

"Some red wine would be great." I told him with a challenging look, what? He did ask us what we wanted. He was already regretting his choice of words.

"I would love a cold beer." Sara told him, she was trying to throw him off completely.

"Club soda it is." He took off, I knew Quentin had given him a specific set of instructions. I was now sure that explicit threats were relayed to Tommy.

"Adam Donner is here." Sara bounced in excitement beside me.

"Who is here?" I asked her, the name did sound very familiar.

"Adam Donner the public defender, the third sexiest man in the city." She replied with a giddy look on her face, oh now I remembered him there was a poster of his in Sara's room.

"Ah!" I muttered in recognition.

"I am going to ask him for a dance." She told me animatedly. People around us looked at us curiously, Sara was quite oblivious to the attention. Her focus was now trained on one man.

"Are you insane? You don't even know him." I shout whispered.

"I know his ass looks great in dress pants." She replied saucily.

"Sara." I scolded with a smile on my face, I did not want to draw attention to us.

"Loosen up Felicity I did not come all the way down here to watch him from afar." She retorted and glided away from me before I can hold her down next to me. I couldn't help but be impressed, Sara had managed to get him to dance with her. She winked at me playfully, I couldn't believe this was the same Sara who is harboring a secret crush on someone.

I saw Tommy walking towards me with ours drinks in hand. He followed my line of sight.

"Woah! When did that happen?" He asked me, he looked pretty amused.

"Like a minute ago Tommy." I responded.

"She is pretty quick." He had a proud smile on his face. I just noticed he had a split lip.

"What's wrong with your lip?" I asked him.

"Camille is a ferocious kisser, she…. .." He began his detailed description of his encounter with the head cheer leader of Starling high.

"Stop stop, it is gross, forget I asked anything." I cut him off before I was mentally scarred.

I heard someone calling Tommy's name behind us. His father waved at him to come over. Malcolm Merlyn was truly an intimidating man, even from across the hall I found him creepy. There was definitely something off about him.

"Will you be alright? I will be back in a second." He was reluctant to leave me alone, I knew no one here except for Sara and him and she was still dancing away in Adam Donner's arms. There was just this one more person whom I knew about but he was nowhere to be seen I couldn't help but look for him as soon as I got here.

Now it was his turn to ignore me, I didn't know what brought that about but it stung like hell. He avoided me at school, he stayed away when I was with Tommy and even if he stopped by big belly Thea did all the talking. The conversations that I did manage to strike up was always clipped and cut off by him. I was becoming increasingly frustrated, why was he suddenly acting like this? I had partially agreed to come to this ball because I knew he would be here.

I was acting irrationally, the twinge of disappointment caused by his absence was growing by the second.

"Go I will be fine, I will be by the bar." I reassured him, he silently raised his eyebrows in question.

"Drinking another club soda." I told him firmly, these shoes were killing me. I shuffled my feet uncomfortably, I needed to sit down and rest my feet. I didn't want to pull Sara away from her latest crush.

The Merlyn's had a beautiful garden, I was aware that it was the creation of some highly paid gardeners. They had stone benches in their garden, who does that? Apparently the filthy rich. I sat down and removed my shoes, it was a bit chilly out here but it was quiet and peaceful too. The cold grass felt good between my toes, it felt soothing to my aching feet.

Why was I here? Was I so desperate to see him? All the suppressed feelings of hurt was trying make its way out, I refused to cry a tear for him. I was done playing the cat and mouse game with him. How did I let him weasel his way into my heart?

"The ball is inside you know." I heard him before I saw him. I refused to look at him.

"Where I spend my time is none of your business." I snapped, I was furious, so furious that I could kill him with my bare hands. Why does this have to be so complicated?

"You look cold." He argued.

"Again none of your business." I shut him down firmly.

I felt something warm drape around my shoulders, he had placed his coat around me. This sparked my anger even more. I ripped off the offending piece of garment and threw it at him. I was momentarily blinded by rage and hurt.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I yelled. I heard a surprised gasp, I looked around, I had startled a couple who were out for a stroll. I was filled with embarrassment. I turned to look at Oliver, he looked miserable. He had a split lip and a black eye, what had happened? Who did this to him?

"Come with me." He pulled me by my hand, my hand felt small and delicate in his large hand. We made our way into several hallways before we reached this room. Oliver locked the door behind him.

"Where are we?" I demanded, my anger had considerably ebbed away.

"My room." He replied softly.

"You have your own room in Merlyn mansion, why am I not surprised?" I couldn't keep the sarcasm away. He replied me with a wry smile.

"Why am I here Oliver?" I asked him.

"I preferred if you made a scene in private." He replied lazily. I couldn't help but scoff at his answer.

"I wasn't making a scene." I had to grit my teeth to keep myself from yelling at him.

"Tell that to the two poor souls." He retorted light heartedly. Was this some kind of sick joke? I seethed in silence.

"I am sorry, I just needed to talk to you where we can't be overheard." He told me, he seemed to be apologetic.

"What happened to you?" I asked him as I motioned to his face.

"In my defense she didn't tell me she was married." He told me airily.

"Stop doing that, I know you got into a fight with Tommy." I told him heatedly. His smile vanished from his face.

"How do you know that?" He asked me softly.

"I am not an idiot Oliver, it is apparent that you two got into a tussle but you came out of it worse than he did." I explained, the moment I saw Oliver I knew it was Tommy who had given him the shiner but what I didn't understand was why would Tommy do that to his best friend?

"You are way too smart for us." He mumbled under his breath.

"Why did you guys fight?" I asked him, I couldn't believe Tommy had gotten the better of Oliver, unless Oliver let him.

"We both wanted the same girl." He tried to brush it off.

"You are lying." I snapped bitterly.

"No I am not." He retorted swiftly.

"Why do you always want others to think the worst of you, is it so hard tell the truth?" I bawled in anger.

"It was about you alright." He yelled back, I was stunned into silence. His intensity made me shiver a little.

"What about me?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"He wanted me to stay far away from you; he thinks I am bad for you." He replied dejectedly.

"I am not a piece of property; I can decide what's good for me." I was beyond furious now, how dare they decide what was best for me.

"I agree with him." He told me, was I hearing this right? Did he just say that he agreed with Tommy.

"Both of you can go to hell." I told him, I was done with the both of them. I was a plaything to them wasn't I? I was on the verge of a meltdown; I wanted to get out here before that happened. I walked towards the door but Oliver blocked my way.

"Please move." I pleaded. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I thought he was right." He told me, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"How about you let me decide what's right for me." I gripped weakly. He moved closer to wipe away my tears. I felt tingles throughout my body.

I felt his palms engulf my face, he rubbed away the tears that had spilled earlier. I had stopped shaking yet he remained unmoved from his place. His face drifted lower, his eyes were clouded with an unknown intensity, it was much darker than its usual color. I could feel his breath on my face. I didn't even think of protesting as he lowered his lips onto mine.

There was desperation and longing in our kisses. I couldn't help but give him more when he nibbled on my lower lip. His tongue coaxed my mouth open. He let out a low hiss, I knew his split lip must sting a lot but he refused to let our lips move away. His hands had moved down to engulf me in a tight embrace. I was pressed against him, I felt delicious friction throughout my body. I may have been kissed before but never like this. I tried to match him, he continued with long and bold suck. The wet mingling of our tongues was reverberating around the room. A small whimper escaped me when our lips separated.

It took me a moment to catch my breath, the realization of what just happened dawned on me. I felt panic set in my body. What did I just do?

 **I hope you guys enjoyed….. Let me know what you think.**

 **Reviews = Love**


	7. The end of the beginning

**I am so sorry for the delayed update, my laptop crashed and I had to start all over again. I wrote and rewrote this chapter so many times…. A special Thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

Excitement had worn off and panic was setting in, what just happened? I have never been kissed like that before, quite so desperate and needy. All of Cooper's kisses my first and only boyfriend had been nice and warm but Oliver's kisses made my body thrum with need. There was a fire in my belly that refused to die down.

I shouldn't be near him, but a rebellious streak filled me. I didn't care what others would think about this and it was about time I dropped the shield that I held between us. It was about time that I admitted to liking him, I didn't know when it happened but he had slowly crept into my heart. Walking away was no longer an option.

Our foreheads rested against each others, our breath mingling together. I stood there comfortably in his tight embrace, the hard planes of his body was pressed against mine. I felt his body heat through our clothes, he was a furnace! I felt his excitement push against my belly, I felt a flush rising in my cheeks but he didn't seem to be perturbed by it. He even seemed a little smug, I looked up into his eyes and found him staring at me heatedly. His pupils were wide blown with lust, it sent tingle down south, I guess this was what pure unadulterated attraction felt like. My lips seemed a little sensitive as I ran my tongue along them. He let out a groan that seemed to vibrate through my body.

"You better not do that again if you want to get out of here tonight." He warned dangerously in a low voice. I gulped, why did I want him to keep his words? I really didn't want to leave him tonight. The intensity of my need made me shiver against him.

"What if I don't want to?" I whispered earnestly, he looked taken aback at my boldness for a moment. A slow smile spread over his lips.

"You look surprised." I teased him. He looked adorable when confused.

"I thought you would be running for the hills by now." He replied truthfully, he seemed to be astounded by my forwardness but glad that I was with him.

"I …..I am not going anywhere." I told him firmly. I was tired of running away from him. I was tired of fighting these feelings that I had for him. It was draining doing this push and pull routine.

"Good, I have no intention of letting you go." His eyes searched mine for a moment, before his impulses took over. His control shattered and he pulled me in for another kiss. His hand held my neck in place and his other hand held my hip tightly against his.

Unlike the kiss before, this was one was filled with heat and lust. His strong arms held me in place providing me with delicious friction. My arms snaked around his neck pulling him even closer. Pent up frustration poured through his kiss, he was devouring me. He bit my lower lip before his tongue invaded my mouth. He shifted and held my hip tightly to his, looked like his excitement had considerably increased. I felt like I was on fire, there was too much heat! My clothes felt heavy on my skin. I couldn't help the moan that escaped me, I felt faint, all the blood in my body seemed to be rushing downwards.

I hadn't realized we had been moving until I landed on the bed on my back, with him on top of me. An involuntary gasp passed through my lips, his body held me in place. His hair felt soft and silky under my finger tips, I tugged on them slightly making him growl into my mouth.

I felt scared, the intensity that burned through my body was overwhelming but I was way past caring right now. He tasted like peppermint and strength, I tried to match his bold sucks but I had to be careful not to hurt him, he switched between nipping and sucking. His manhood twitched against my thigh making my stomach clench in anticipation.

A bolt of courage surged through me, my hands travelled down his chest and tugged at the seams of his white dress shirt. My fingers brushed against his skin as I pulled his shirt from his trousers, he broke our kiss to help me. We were both too impatient, I was sure a button or two flew across the bed as he yanked his shirt apart and tossed it aside. I ran my hands over his body, he was all muscle, perfectly built like god himself had sculpted him. He held himself above me for a moment giving me a moment to appreciate his body.

My eyes drank him in, an appreciative sigh passed through my lips before his lips descended on mine again. He settled between my thighs, we kissed in a frenzy completely lost in each other. The world could burn down to ashes for all I cared. My hands roamed around his naked back relishing the feel of his smooth skin under my fingers. His hands reached around my back and maneuvered the zipper down, how he managed to do that while his lips were still nipping and sucking on mine would be a mystery to me.

His lips separated from mine with a loud smack, I felt his lips ghost over the column of my throat, his teeth grazed against my throat before nipping and sucking at my collarbone. He placed feather light kisses at the top of my breasts that peeked above the dress. Wetness pooled down my nether regions, I felt him smirk against my skin as I moaned wantonly.

It was moving too fast but I couldn't find the will to stop what was happening. His lips captured mine again before I was stolen away by self doubts.

I felt his hands travel between our bodies, he swallowed the small whimper that I let out. His deft fingers travelled under my dress and tugged into the hem of my underwear. He paused for a moment, I knew he was giving me a chance to push him away but my body was keen for his touch. Stopping now would be too cruel. His fingers felt scorching hot against my skin, he placed a small calming kiss on my lips. I felt his heart thrumming wildly against his chest, his face was buried in the crook of my neck. I held onto him tightly, I was so close to flying off into bliss.

He stroked the pad of his thumb over the most sensitive spot on my body, his ministrations through the thin cotton panties I had worn today felt incredible. I found myself writhing against him. His hands suddenly disappeared from down there. He froze for a moment, he took a deep breath trying to reign in his emotions.

I had been so distracted that I hadn't heard the loud knocks on the door. Both of us froze, there was someone at the door. The sound of our harsh breaths reverberated around the room. I thanked my lucky stars, Oliver had locked the door if someone had walked in on us I would have spontaneously combust into flames in embarrassment.

"Mr. Queen are you in there?" Came a gruff voice from behind the door.

"Mr. Queen , your mother is looking for you." I could sense exasperation in his voice.

"I will be down in a minute." Oliver called out quickly. We heard the rude intruder walk away seconds later. Suddenly there was this awkwardness that surrounded the both of us. His body weight had me pinned to the mattress.

"We should stop here." He told me breathlessly, his short pants tickled my ear. His face was still buried n the crook of my neck. Shame flooded me, I should have had better self control. This should not have progressed past the first kiss. We lay there quietly against each other catching ours breaths. Would it have progressed further if we hadn't been interrupted? A thousand questions ran through my mind.

What did this mean? Was this just a onetime thing? Were we in a relationship now? I felt foolish, expecting a relationship from Oliver Queen just because we reached second base? He moved away from me, the sudden disappearance of his body heat made me feel empty. I got up and righted my dress. He was avoiding my eyes. He was looking at his discarded shirt, it was missing four buttons and it was definitely un wearable now.

"I am sorry about your shirt." I told him, my voice a hoarse whisper.

"Don't worry I have plenty more." He told me nonchalantly, why was he suddenly acting so cold? He pulled a fresh shirt from the closet and started dressing himself. I was more afraid than ever; I realized that I liked him a lot more than I had anticipated. I gulped down the fear I was feeling. I walked to the mirror in the corner. The image starring back at me was a horror show. The red lipstick was smudged across my lips, my lips were thick and swollen and my mascara had run down. My hair was all over the place, I looked thoroughly fucked. I realized my shoes were still in the garden.

"The bathroom is to the left." He told me, he must have noticed my hesitation.

"People will notice us missing, I will meet you downstairs?" He asked me indecisively; maybe he too was unsure of how to act around me.

"Yeah I will find you downstairs." I assured him. He paused before the door.

"I am so sorry Felicity this should have never happened." He delivered the words that I had been dreading, the lack of emotion from him made me want to punch him. Wasn't he the one who talked about not letting me go a few minutes ago? I watched him walk away, what was happening? How did we go from hot and heavy to cold and uncertain? Were we doing the push and pull once more?

I refreshed myself, I needed some answers from Oliver. I wanted to know why this was just a mistake to him? Luckily I had my purse still with me, I reapplied my makeup quickly I was not going to let Oliver dodge my questions. What had made him act so strangely? I steeled myself before I made my way to the garden.

I sighed in relief when I saw my shoes still lying there. How could I have not realized that I didn't have them on when I was being dragged away by Oliver? I realized that I become quite distracted whenever he was in front of me.

I walked inside the hall, everyone had their masks on. The dance floor was filled with couples swaying to the soft music. I tried to find Sara and Oliver among the crowd.

"There you are." I heard Sara's panicked voice behind me. I turned around and found Sara and Tommy rushing towards me.

"Where were you?" Tommy demanded before I could answer Sara.

"In the garden." I lied effortless, I was sure Tommy would do something incredibly stupid if he knew what had transpired between Oliver and me.

"One minute you were here and the next you were gone." Tommy was annoyed. He really looked out for me but I couldn't help but be irritated with him. He had no right in interfering with my social life, only I get to decide whom to be friends with. I couldn't believe he had punched Oliver.

"I got bored." I told him.

"Felicity you should call your mother." Sara told me apprehensively.

"Why what's wrong Sara?" I asked her. I felt cold, something terrible had happened, didn't it?

"You should call your mother Felicity." Sara told me cautiously. I saw Tommy shifting uncomfortably behind Sara.

"Just tell me Sara." I pleaded.

"Your uncle called, your grandmother was in an accident she is being taken to the hospital." Sara told me.

Oh God! How bad was it? How did this happen? Was nana behind the wheels? She was a terrible driver, who let her drive?

"Felicity sweetheart drink this." Tommy handed me a glass.

I gulped the water down; I needed to get home quickly. I am sure mom would be a wreck. I needed to call aunt Libby she would have more information.

"Felicity are you alright?" Tommy's concerned voice jolted me from my inner turmoil.

"Tommy can you please take me home?" I croaked miserably.

"Let's go." Sara tugged my arm.

"You don't have to come with me Sara, stay and enjoy the party." I told her, I knew she was so excited to be here.

"You really think that this party is more important than you." Sara huffed. I saw her phone ringing, it was Quentin. I was grateful that my mother had him in her life, he really was the most devoted and loving husband.

"We need you to get you to the airport, my dad is driving Donna there. He has managed to get tickets for the both of you on the next flight." Sara told me hurriedly.

I couldn't find Oliver, my eyes roamed about the hall searching for him. The talk that I desperately needed to have with him had to wait. Where was he?

With Tommy behind the wheels I was sure that I would make my flight. My nana was in surgery, a freak accident was not going to take out my nana, she was a fighter and she was going to survive this.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you more."

Their make out session was nauseating; I wanted to stab my eyes out. Her hands were groping his ass. That's it! I did not want to watch them get their freak on in public.

"Mom."

"Mom."

"Mom." I had to yell to get her attention, he too was oblivious to the surroundings. He was a cop for God's sake! And they were in public!

"Oh sorry honey, it's been a while since I got any action." She told me unapologetically, at least Quentin had the decency to look embarrassed. I groaned, my mother and her inappropriate comments. A second later they were back to making out again.

"Really mom!" I whined.

"My hands didn't quite bring me the satisfaction that this one does." She told me shamelessly, Quentin turned beet red. Why did she have to do this to me?

"I think I will take the bus." I was annoyed. I was tired and cranky, it had been a tiring few days. Couldn't they wait until they got home?

"Sorry kiddo, get in now." Quentin told me apologetically. I heaved a heavy sigh as I got in the back seat of the car. It was good to be back in Starling city, the cold wind felt soothing on my face. Once I returned to Vegas I realized that Starling had become home, a home that I felt safe in.

My mom was filling in Quentin about our visit, nana had successfully made it through surgery and was well on her way to recovery. She had literally shoved us all out of her hospital room, she didn't want us hovering over her. That old crony was too stubborn for her own good. Aunt Libby had stayed back to look after her, I really wished she had let us stay until she got out of the hospital. She had broken her left femur and four ribs, she had been extremely lucky it had not punctured her lungs but the broken nose was the one she was the most pissed off about.

My phone buzzed, I felt excitement build again despite the repeated disappointment I have been experiencing since I left Starling.

It was Sara, she wanted an ETA. I felt my excitement deflate once again, Sara wanted to have a star wars movie marathon once I get home. A feeling of unease was gnawing at me, I just got one message from Oliver in my time away. An extremely cryptic message, he wanted to talk once I got back, he had something important to tell me. I had an ominous feeling about this. I had told him I would be coming back in a couple of days and after that I had heard no word from him.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I hadn't realized we were home. I trailed behind my mother, Quentin was getting our luggage from the trunk. We were greeted by a beaming Sara.

"I missed you Donna." She jumped into my mother's waiting arms.

"I missed you too baby." My mother cooed, as she smoothed down Sara's hair. As expected Laurel was nowhere to be found. I felt slightly relieved, I didn't think I could handle her snark in my current mood.

Sara pushed past my mother to engulf me in a strong hug.

"I am so glad you are back, I was bored out of my mind." She told me.

"Me too." I mumbled back, I was too tired to form an intelligible sentence.

She helped me to settle back in my room. I was busy sorting my laundry, I needed clean pajamas. I saw Sara scoffing at her phone.

"Something wrong?" I asked her quietly.

"It's Laurel, she is out and she wants me to cover for her." She told me irritably.

"Huh." I grunted as I plopped down on my bed. Wasn't it too late to be out? Quentin had gone back to the precinct, apparently a bank had been broken in and my mother was already in bed.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" Sara asked me as she sat next to me.

"Why?" I asked her, what was tomorrow.

"Dad wants to do thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night." She told me excitedly.

"But thanksgiving is a couple of days away." I asked her, did I lose my sense of time.

"Yeah but Laurel wants to do thanksgiving with my mother and I want to visit her too." She told me patiently. I knew both of them missed their mother it was part of the reason why Laurel hated me so much. Sara wanted to be supportive of her father's new relationship but there were times that she resented the fact that her mother couldn't be with her.

"Don't worry I have nothing to do tomorrow." I assured her, it would be the first time I would be celebrating thanksgiving with a family, it made me look forward to tomorrow.

"Dad has already spoken to Donna about it, she is so excited to cook a thanksgiving dinner." She informed me, when did that happen?

My mom was cooking? Now that was something that I was not looking forward to.

"I have asked Sin to come over, I think Dad and Laurel are having a couple of friends over too." She told me. I nodded silently. Great! I would have to deal with Laurel and her snotty friends tomorrow.

"Mom I think you are over doing it." I grumbled as I struggled to push the almost full cart. My mom stood in front of the spices aisle, ticking off items from the long list she had made. I couldn't believe I got stuck with her, my feet were beginning to ache. Sara and Quentin were going to help her when she cooks, as in save the dish before she ruins it while I was stuck with helping her shop. My mom was excited to cook for a family, it has always been the two of us. I think she was looking forward to all the domesticity of it.

"I think we have everything." I told her once again. I looked at the cart, she had bought a lot of useless things. I rubbed my aching forehead, I will never ever play assistant to my mother again.

"I think you are right honey." She told me as she scanned the list again.

"I have been telling you this for the past half an hour." I growled.

"Calm down, you don't want stress lines to ruin your face." She told me exasperatedly.

"I don't think you have enough time to cook the damn turkey." I snapped. I was not looking forward to eating raw meat.

"You think so?" She looked horrified; I think I got my point through.

"Yes mom." I told her tiredly.

"Let's get out of here." She made her way to billing with me quietly trailing behind her. I did a small cheer, we had left this place much sooner than I had expected.

I felt tired and drained maybe some sleep would help. Once we got home, I decided to take a nap. Sara assured me that she would wake me up when dinner was ready. I checked my phone once again, still no word from you know who.

"Felicity wake up." I heard Sara's faint voice. My mind was still cloudy with sleep. She was trying to shake me awake. She was sitting beside me.

I sat upright, it was dark outside looked like I had slept the afternoon away.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked me, she looked concerned.

"Yeah, is everyone here?" I asked her, my voice came out as a coarse whisper.

"Sin is here, she is been asking for you." She told me. Sin was the only other person who didn't treat me like scum in school.

"What about Quentin's friends?" I asked her before getting out of bed.

"They couldn't make it." She told me, I was still felling tired in spite of the nap.

"Are you sure you are alright, you look terrible." Sara asked me warily.

"I am fine." I mumbled under my breath.

"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." She told me, she went down to set the table.

I got ready quickly, I pulled on the ugly sweater that Sara had picked out for me. She had begged me to try the sweater, she played dress up with me way too much than I liked. Why was I wearing Christmas colors on thanksgiving? I pulled my hair into a pony, my hair was becoming a problem lately I needed to do something about it, maybe cut it shorter?

I made my way to the living room, Sin was there watching some reruns on the TV. She gave me a warm smile as she saw me coming.

"You look like my neighbor's cat and not in a good way." She teased, she was dressed in black from head to toe. She too had been target of bullies before Sara had befriended her. She liked all things dark and loud, I found a kindred spirit in her. I sat down beside her on the couch.

"Way to kick a girl when she is down." I grumbled.

Laurel walked past us, she totally ignored the both of us. My patience was wearing thin, I didn't think I could put up with her abrasive behavior much longer.

"Bitch!" I heard Sin beside me. I couldn't help but give her an amused smile.

"I don't understand how Sara and you put up with her." Sin whispered beside.

"Trust me every day is a challenge." I told her.

"What's with the hideous sweater?" She asked me.

"Sara." I moaned in protest.

Sin laughed at my misery. Laurel once again walked past us to check on the front door.

"Wow she is all decked up." Sin commented in appreciation.

She looked stunning in her simmering red dress, but wasn't it a little over the top for a dinner? I have never done this before and I wouldn't know the exact dress code for such events. We saw Laurel walk back to her room.

"Doesn't she seem nervous?" I asked Sin, Laurel was looking flighty, I have never seen her waiting by the door before.

"Maybe she is worried about her friends coming over." She told me speculatively.

"Friends more like minions." I corrected her.

We heard my mom calling us to the table, the table was filled with dishes and surprisingly the smell coming from them was making my mouth water. Quentin looked exhausted, poor guy he probably had to do the chunk of cooking today.

We heard the front bell ringing.

"I will get it." I went to open the front door.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed him until I was peering into his baby blues, his cheeks were tinted red because of the cold. Even though he was all bundled up in warm clothes he looked hot. I could feel my heart racing, was he always going to have this effect on me?

It took me a while to form a coherent sentence.

"Oliver what are you doing here?" I asked him, I was confused, what was he doing here? Now was not the right time to have our talk. Why the hell was he holding a wine bottle?

I saw Tommy walking up to the front door, now what was he doing here? Did Oliver tell Tommy about us or whatever was going on between us?

"Hey Smoaky it's been a while." Tommy told me cheerfully, he made his way to the front of the door with hurried steps. It was nice to see that goofy smile of his.

"It's good to see you too Tommy but what are you doing here?" I asked them.

"I am here to provide him support." He pointed to Oliver. The said person was eerie quiet, he had not said a word. Oliver was acting as if he barely knew me, what was going on?

"Will you let them in its freezing outside." I heard Laurel snap behind me. I flushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry." I mumbled apologetically. I let them in, Tommy tapped my shoulder teasingly. Oliver was refusing to meet my eyes, anxiety filled me.

Laurel moved into Oliver's arms and gave him a sound kiss, I couldn't look away. When did this happen? There was sharp pain in the middle of my chest, my knees almost gave away. Wow, I couldn't understand what I was feeling right now? Pain? Anger? Disappointment?

I brought this on myself, I let him in and I let him hurt me. Why didn't I expect this?

"I didn't come all this way to see you two suck faces." Tommy complained irritably.

"I really appreciate you coming here Tommy." She gave him a hug that seemed to lift his spirits considerably.

"Did you have to invite them?" Sara let out a whine as she walked into the living room.

"I can hear you blondie." Tommy retorted with sarcasm. Laurel looked furious, if looks could kill Sara would be dead by now.

"I see you two make moony eyes all over campus and you have to do the same at home?" Sara was annoyed, apparently I have missed a lot when I was away. It serves me right, didn't Tommy warn me something like this would happen?

I felt Oliver's eyes on me, I looked up into them. I saw fear and guilt, was he scared that I will spill his secrets to Laurel? If he wants to rebuild his relationship with her, it was entirely up to him. Didn't he say what happened was a mistake? I was his dirty little secret, wasn't I? I don't think he would ever tell Laurel about us, what was I talking about? There was never an us!

I zoned out, I could hear their conversation in the back ground but I couldn't concentrate. I was the other woman; he made me the other woman. I thought he liked me, I let myself be charmed by him. How could I have been so stupid? I felt my eyes sting. What was he thinking when he kissed me? I felt dirty, I had been warned plenty of times and yet I made the mistake of trusting him. I felt crushed. I thought I knew him but how could I have been so wrong?

I walked away from them, there was a very real possibility of me going insane in their presence.

The food tasted bland on my tongue, maybe it was just me? I had to listen to my mom turn into a giddy teenager in front of Oliver Queen, it was embarrassing! She was thoroughly impressed with Laurel's boyfriend snagging skills. He was sitting beside Laurel and my mother and right opposite to me on the table. Quentin was grumpily chewing on his food. Quentin Lance was not a huge fan of the Queens or the Merlyns. Tommy was doing a piss poor job of flirting with Sin, she looked like she wanted tear him apart but that egged him even more.

I knew when he was looking at me, I could feel his hot gaze on my face. I kept my eyes trained on the food before me.

"Dad Oliver and I have something to say." Laurel announced, trepidation filled me I don't think I was up for any more blows today.

"You guys are engaged aren't you?" My mother squealed like a schoolgirl. I wanted crawl into hole right now.

"What? No?" Oliver thwarted that assumption quickly.

"You are not pregnant are you?" My mom blurted out making Quentin gasp in horror.

"No I am not." Laurel responded. She was blushing, it was probably the first time I have seen her do that.

"What is it Laurel?" Quentin demanded apprehensively.

"We want to move in together." Oliver told him, Quentin looked like he had chewed on a lemon.

"No." Quentin responded quickly.

"What do you mean by no?" Laurel asked confused, she knew better, there was no way Quentin was ever going to agree to this.

"Maybe you should give him some time to think honey." My mother told Laurel. She was trying to diffuse the situation before someone's head exploded.

"No matter when you ask me my answer is going to be the same." Quentin told them firmly.

"Why not dad?" Laurel snapped.

"Detective Lance…." Oliver began

"I don't want to hear it." Quentin cut him off.

"Why not dad?" Laurel repeated wanting an answer.

"Because I said so." He responded angrily.

"We both are eighteen years old dad, we would be going to the same college….." Laurel tried to reason.

"Unbelievable, it is not going to happen Laurel." He snapped loudly.

"Quentin." My mother was trying to calm him down.

"No Donna she is not moving in with him." He told her.

"Quentin let's not make any rash decisions tonight, give some thought to it." She told him.

"You don't have to teach me how to raise my daughters Donna." He snapped, a flash of hurt passed through my mother's face. I did not expect Quentin to say that.

There was stunned silence across the table, nobody knew how to react.

"I should get going, thanks for the dinner." Sin excused herself, my mother nodded mutely at her. Tommy followed her, he wanted to drive her home. He seemed relieved to be getting away.

A call from the precinct had Quentin rushing out of the house, my mother had abandoned the table as soon as Quentin left. I knew she needed a shoulder to cry on, I decided to check on her. My feeling needed to wait until later that night.

My pillow was drenched with my tears that night, my phone had been constantly buzzing I knew it was him but I just didn't want to listen to anything he had to say. Now he had the time to call me? I was flooded with messages from him, I deleted all of them without reading it. I was not ready to deal with him.

My world had been simple and uncomplicated before I knew Oliver Queen. I cried myself to sleep that night.

It has been a week since the disastrous dinner and I have been surprisingly alright, no tears, no feeling sorry for myself and so was my mom. Quentin was still in the dog house. His mopping around was becoming unbearable, he was relegate to the couch. Things were moving fast in the Oliver and Laurel situation, apparently they were moving in together soon despite Quentin's disapproval. Laurel's mother approved of her decision and there was no stopping Laurel Lance once she makes up her mind. Their on again off again dysfunctional relationship even made headlines in the local newspapers. How could I have been so blind? I have been successfully avoiding Oliver for the past week, all I had to do was stick with Sara, she was the best Oliver repellent that was available.

All of that changed on a Wednesday evening, I spotted Thea sitting in one of my tables in Big Belly, I knew Oliver was here I just needed to get out before he spots me. I walked into the locker room, it was time that I cashed in the favor with Carly. She was getting ready to take off.

"Hey Carly would you mind covering my shift?" I asked her hurriedly.

"Is everything all right?"She asked me with concern.

"Yeah! I have an important paper that I need to finish, a very very important paper that I totally forgot about." I pleaded. She let out a sigh, she pulled out her carefully folded apron from her locker.

"You are lucky, my brother in law is taking care of AJ." She told me. Relief flooded my system.

"Thank you so much." I gave her a quick hug before I rushed out through the back exit. My relief was short lived, I saw Oliver waiting for me in the back alley. My hurried steps came to a screeching halt

"I knew this would work." He told me coolly.

"Thea is in there alone." I accused, he used his sister as bait?

"No she is not, she is there with Raisa." He told me cheekily.

"Get out of my way Queen." I snapped. The grin he was sporting vanished from his face.

"I just need you to hear me out." He moved towards me, cutting the space between us in half. I held up my hand, I didn't want him any closer to me.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say." I tried dodging him but he was blocking my way out.

"I just need two minutes, please." He begged.

"You are with Laurel, what happened that day was a mistake, Laurel should never find out about it, have I covered everything that you have to say?" I spat.

"Not even close." He bit back.

"What do you want Oliver?" I yelled, blood roaring in my ears.

"It was not a mistake." He replied softly.

"What does that even mean?" I really didn't understand him, he was the most frustrating person I have ever met.

"Laurel came to see me the day after the ball, she wanted to get back together. She is comfortable Felicity, I have known her my whole life. My future has been planned for me. Marry Laurel, take over Queen consolidated some day, have an heir, it goes on and on." He paused rubbing his hand over his face, he looked tired.

"I didn't realize how much I wanted you until I kissed you. I couldn't say no when she wanted to get back together Felicity." He confessed.

"I want to do this right, I will tell Laurel about us I just need some time Felicity."

"There is no us Oliver." I whispered shakily.

"We both know better Felicity."

"I can't do this to Laurel, I won't do this to Laurel." I replied stubbornly. She may have not been the best step sister out there but I lived with her. I knew this would ruin her.

"I am not the right guy for her." He told me.

"It's not my problem. Now get out of my way." I walked past him.

"She wants something that I can't give her." I heard him behind me, he trailed behind me.

"Again not my problem." I snapped, he gripped my forearm and turned me around. My eyes were swimming in tears.

"Come with me, my parents want to sail to China for the New year. Come with me, we can get away from here." Was he even hearing what he was saying? The tears that I was trying so hard to hold it in came rolling down.

"Do you even like me Oliver?" I asked him. It hurt everywhere, I just wanted curl up in my bed.

"Felicity."

"What am I to you Oliver?" I asked him. I needed to get this off my chest, I might as well do this now.

He thought hard before he answered.

"I think I like you." He told me, a few days ago this would have sent tingles down my body but now it hurt, it felt like someone was shredding me to pieces.

"No you don't Oliver. I am just a convenient distraction." I spat angrily.

"You have no idea how I feel." He roared back.

"Actually I do, you are scared of committing and you hide behind things and I will not be one of those things Oliver." I told him firmly.

"Come with me we can figure this out." He pleaded.

"I am not going to run away with you Oliver, you should know me better." I told him, he freed my arm from his grip. He knew there was nothing he could say that would change my mind.

"Felicity." His voice sounded so defeated, but I needed to stay strong.

"Stop running Oliver." I parted with one last advice.

My heart ached, my chance with him ended even before it began. We could have been good together and now we will never find out. Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak together that definitely seemed odd, why didn't I see it before?

The Gambit was setting sail in three hours, Oliver's offer was still in the back of my mind. I was never going to do anything about it. I had seen Laurel pick out her picture, she wanted Oliver to have something of hers during the journey.

Things were slowly getting back to normal, Quentin had begged for forgiveness. My mother and my new step father were back in their honeymoon phase. Laurel was apartment hunting, she wanted the perfect apartment money was never going to be an issue. Every time I bumped into Oliver I felt shooting pains in my chest, when was it going to stop? A month? Two? A year?

My mother was out with her friends, Quentin in the precinct and Laurel was out meeting Oliver. That left me and Sara, I was going to beg her for a doctor who marathon. I quickly made my way to Sara's room.

She was packing a bag, she hadn't noticed me walk inside her room yet.

"What are you doing Sara?" I asked her, she looked startled. I felt bad for scarring her.

"I am going to follow my heart Felicity." She told me, she raced around packing her bag.

"Sara I don't understand." She was making me nervous.

"You were right, I should have told him how I felt." She told me.

"Is this about your crush?" I asked her slowly, I didn't want to spook her. She paused to look at me.

"I love him Felicity, I have always loved him, I loved him even before Laurel did." She told me confidently.

No it can't be, she couldn't be possibly be talking about him could she?

"It is not Oliver is it?" I asked her cautiously. I prayed for a no, but I knew it in my gut it was him.

"I am so sorry but I need to tell him." She told me remorsefully.

This was so twisted, I felt the ground slip beneath my feet. How did I not see this before? Was I that oblivious? I wanted to throw up. All three girls living under this roof were under his spell.

"Don't do this Sara, please." I begged. I will get on my knees if I have to.

"I love him Felicity, I can't pretend anymore. Oliver wants me to go to China with him." She told me stubbornly, she looked determined to tell him how she felt. This was going to destroy this family.

"Sara Laurel will never forgive you." I told her, did she not realize the consequences for her actions?

"And I will never forgive myself if I don't tell him." She told me, she moved past me to the door.

What should I say to dissuade her? Oliver was such a coward; he had such a roundabout way of breaking things off with Laurel. His phobia of commitment was getting ridiculous, he should just tell Laurel how he feels instead of hurting her like this.

"I am truly sorry Felicity." She parted with a choked sob.

I heard the front door close. Sara had written a letter for Quentin it lay on her bed. A piece paper was going to tear this family apart.

I was not giving up, I called Oliver. I needed him stop this. What he thinking? This was cruel, Laurel did not deserve this.

I kept getting his voice mail, should I call Tommy? He was way too loyal to Laurel there was no way he could hide this from Laurel.

I needed to work fast, did Mr & Mrs Queen know about Oliver's diabolical plan? They adored Laurel, didn't they? How could they let this happen? I needed to get to the docks.

I was too late I was not able to stop Sara from going to China with Oliver.

When I got home I found a forlorn Quentin in the living room and my mother busy in the kitchen, looked like they had found Sara's letter. It lay discarded on the coffee table. Quentin looked up at me. His eyes were red rimmed, he painted the picture of a truly heartbroken and anguished father. I walked up to my mother.

"Mom" I called out softly.

"Did you know about this?" She demanded, she was pissed off. I have never seen her this angry before.

"No! I never knew she like him." I shot back.

"Don't lie to me Felicity." She accused. It stung that my own mother wouldn't believe me.

"I swear mom I am as shocked as you are." I told her, I sounded hurt and my mom realized that too, her anger drained away.

"What are we going to tell Laurel?" She looked and sounded distressed.

"Where is she?" I realized that Laurel was not home.

"She is sleeping over at her friend's place." My mother told me, we had some time before the bomb exploded.

Quentin could not take the day off and that meant Laurel was still in the dark about Sara. Quentin had decided that they would tell Laurel as soon as he got back he did not want my mother to do it alone.

The clock was mocking me, I swear it was intentionally moving slowly, I could see my mother pacing in the kitchen. Laurel was in the living room reading something; she looked so peaceful I really did not envy her. Oliver Queen was truly a dick and a coward.

I let out a sigh as soon as I heard the door bell ring, Quentin was home. Laurel moved to get the door. Sadly I was wrong, there was a tall dark stranger on the other side of the door. My mother had sensed my alarm and joined us in the living room.

"Miss Lance?" The stranger greeted Laurel.

"Yes and who are you?" Laurel asked him, she didn't recognize him and neither did I. My mother moved to stand beside Laurel her motherly instincts kicking in.

"I am Walter Steele, CFO of Queen consolidated." He wore a somber look on his face. Anxiety churned in the pits of my stomach.

"What are you doing here Mr. Steele?" My mother asked him. He hesitated before answering her.

"I have some bad news." His thick British accent seeped out.

"What is it?" Laurel asked him, she was frightened.

"The Gambit was caught in a storm and unfortunately it was destroyed in the storm." He worded it delicately.

Oh no this was not happening, Oliver couldn't be dead, Little Thea? Oh my God Sara! No no this couldn't be happening, this was nightmare. I just needed to open my eyes and everything would be alright again.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, I could still see Mr. Steele standing there. Why was he still standing there? Sara, Oliver, no please God this can't be true. My cheeks were wet with the onslaught of tears, No! This was just a nightmare I was going to wake up in a minute.

Why couldn't I wake up?

"Four were killed but they were able to save Oliver, Thea and Miss Sara Lance, they are being airlifted to the nearest hospital." Walter told us in his baritone voice. I was able to heave a big sigh of relief, I know it was terrible. Four people were dead but Oliver was alive, Sara was alive, Thea was alive.

"I need to call Quentin." My mom rushed to her room.

"I am sorry I just heard you say Sara Lance." Laurel asked him, I had momentarily forgotten that Laurel did not know Sara had taken off with Oliver.

"I am truly sorry but Miss Lance was found aboard." Realization had dawned in Laurel's eyes, she stumbled back. I moved forward to hold her, she did not push away, she remained in my hold. She truly did not deserve this. Damn you Oliver Queen! You are truly a pathetic jerk!

Walter looked like he knew what was going on, after all Oliver's philandering ways were not a secret to the world. He shot Laurel a sympathetic look.

Oliver and Thea Queen were being treated in some European country, their location was a closely guarded secret. They were under the care of their uncle, the tragic story of the Queen family was all the media talked about for months.

I tried to gather information, some legally and some not so legal methods but all I could find out was that the uncle was not blood related but a friend of Robert Queen. Nobody saw the Queen siblings for months, there were conspiracy theories that they too were dead. My heart lurched whenever somebody said that.

I tried calling him, I knew it was futile effort but I kept trying. I can get back to hating him once I knew he was alright.

Sara had moved to Coast city with her mother, I visited her whenever possible but every time I was there I was treated with disdain by her mother. She though my mother was the reason why Sara got hurt, she thought it was my mother's bad parenting which was truly unfair. Sara was distant too, my motivation to visit her was growing far and few.

Laurel threw herself into her studies, we blatantly ignored each other at home. She was pitied everywhere, sometimes I truly felt sorry for her. I tried to include her but she was far too proud to take my help.

I made it to MIT, I should have been over the moon but there was a hole in my heart that made me feel hollow despite the joyous occasion. Laurel was starting law school, Quentin and my mother were proud and so was I, I truly admired her spirit she did not crumble down instead she had carved a life for herself. Sara was being home schooled, Quentin was the only one who seemed to know what was happening with her.

I was so ready to begin the next chapter in my life, whatever happened with Oliver needed to be erased from my memory. Sometimes I felt this deep pang of pain, nobody was ever going to know how I felt about him. It was like it never happened maybe that was good thing. Maybe it was a short chapter in my life that was meant to teach me some valuable life lessons.

Whatever lie ahead I was ready for it….

 **Let me know what you guys think… I love hearing from you guys…..**


	8. Collision Course

**A New Year special chapter. A special Thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors. I don't know any Russian so please forgive me if there any mistakes.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

 **I**

"I am doing this with or without your help." She brusquely responded to his protests. She was here after decades long of inner conflict.

She hated mysteries, whenever she came across one she had the insane urge to solve them and this was personal for her. She had a damaged childhood and rebellious teenage years because of his actions. She needed to know why he did what he did.

She had tried to stay away, she had convinced herself that he was undeserving of her attention but there was always this voice at the back of her head that needed answers.

People around her made her realize how truly different she was from them, people enjoyed life, thrived in the wonders of nature but no matter where she was what she was doing there seemed to be a profound emptiness that was embedded deep within her.

The emptiness made her life seem irrelevant and distorted and she needed to change that. She walked ahead of her two best friends without whom this wouldn't have been possible.

She was so glad that she had met them both on the first day of college. Without these two she would have been downright miserable in MIT.

"Are you sure you want to do this Felicity." She heard her best friend's concerned voice behind her. She turned to look at her friends.

Her eyes flicked to their concerned faces, she let out a deep sigh before responding to them.

"I am sure Caitlyn, I want to know who he is? Why he left?" She responded making her friends look at her sympathetically.

They both had been there when she had finally decided to track her father, they had been there for her ugly struggles to come to terms with what she found.

She always thought that her father had been a computer analyst and her love for all things technological stemmed from him but she had found out he had lied about everything. Right from his name to his profession, she found layers of lies and carefully planted fake identities. If she had not been extremely good at what she does nobody would have realized what was going on.

It had quickly evolved into a game for her, chasing after the real person behind the fake name and identities. And here she was in another freaking continent trying to get to the end of this witch hunt.

"You guys were so supportive before what changed?" She asked them unable to understand why they suddenly changed their mind, they had made this long exhaustive trip to Russia and now they wanted to back away. It didn't make any sense to her. She looked at them expectantly.

"It's not that we are not supportive." Barry began. Treading carefully trying his hardest not to upset her.

"If a man has gone to such lengths to keep himself hidden, then we should probably rethink what we are about to do." Caitlyn finished the sentence.

"I don't want to wonder for the rest of my life." She told them, her voice filled with silent determination. Barry nodded at her in resigned understanding.

"Then let's go find out who he really is." Caitlyn told her, giving her a warm smile.

They made their way inside.

 **II**

They were sitting in the lobby of an expensive hotel in central Moscow, the walls were covered with large colourful murals. Something about this place was disconcerting to them.

She had discovered that her father visited this hotel every third Wednesday of the month. What he did here would remain a mystery. Her online searches had not yielded a location; she had paid good money to her boyfriend's PI for this bit of information.

They were early, her father normally showed up around seven. She checked her phone once again, there was no way she could have missed him. The couch felt a little crowded with the three of them, she had gone ahead and booked rooms in the hotel with fake identities. To outsiders they seemed like a bunch of tourists busy planning for their outing tomorrow.

Barry kept a close watch on the front door, she was worried. She had not able to hack into their security cameras, she needed access to their servers and that was impossible what with their servers located on the twentieth floor. Barry had been against doing anything illegal when they were here. She too felt responsible for their well being, she could not put them in incessant danger.

"Felicity." Caitlyn whispered beside her to get her attention.

"What's wrong Cate?" She whispered back.

"What if he disappoints you?" She asked her, genuinely concerned for her friend. Caitlyn Snow knew how hard it was for her friend to be here. In the ten years that she had known her, her father had been a sore subject.

"I honestly don't know Cate, I have no answers to give you." She responded honestly, she was filled with equal amounts of excitement and dread.

She felt guilty, she had dragged them both into this mess maybe she should have made this trip alone. Caitlyn was giving her a contemplative look.

"Does your boyfriend know why you are really here?" She asked her.

"Yes." She responded quickly. Caitlyn knew her well and immediately knew she was lying.

"Felicity." She scolded.

"You know how he is, he would have gone all protective boyfriend on me." She explained sheepishly, she knew she would have a lot of explaining to do when she got back. She just hoped that her relationship weathered this storm, she liked him too much to give him up.

"I find him creepy." Caitlyn told her with faint disgust.

"Caitlyn, it's been four years and you still find him creepy?" She glared at her friend slightly offended by her remarks.

"He pinged your phone, followed you." Caitlyn teased her friend.

"He was trying to woo me." She defended her boyfriend's actions.

"I call that stalking." She mocked her friend.

"Guys." Barry called out softly, his eyes trained on the door.

Her father had just walked in, she couldn't recognize him for a moment. Two scary looking guys followed him, there was no she could get him alone here. He looked shorter than what she had remembered, he wore the salt and pepper hair well. He was dressed in expensive looking clothes, she momentarily wondered what he did for a living and whatever he did must pay him well. After all these years there he was just a few feet away, felicity wondered if he realized she was here. She chastised herself for getting carried away.

"Time for me to get into action." He told the, Barry jumped up from the couch. He was nervous and they both realized that.

"I can do it Barry." Felicity intervened before he took off.

"Don't worry Felicity I got this." He reassured them.

The plan was to find his car and a tracker on it, then can they can triangulate the location where he lived. Felicity needed privacy when she confronted him, he seemed to be a man of many faces and she didn't want to take any added risks. She needed to get him alone.

 **III**

"Are you sure it was his car?" She questioned him again. He eyed her with amusement, he found her adorable when she was flustered .

"Yes I am sure Felicity." He muttered dryly.

"Let's get out of here, this place is giving me the creeps." Caitlyn interjected.

"You find everything creepy Caitlyn." Barry retorted playfully.

"With reason Barry, with reason." She said slowly, staring him down.

"Sorry." He muttered sullenly.

They got back to their hotel, all of them completely exhausted. Jet lag had finally caught up with them. They barely managed to keep their eyes open to get some food down their stomachs.

They were in Russia under the pretence of a Tech conference, they had a hard time explaining away Caitlyn's presence there. They had convinced everyone back home that they were just going to turn into a much needed vacation.

"Tomorrow we can decide how to approach him." Barry told them, he didn't trust Felicity to make sane decisions when it concerned her father.

The three of them made their way to their rooms, tomorrow would be a big for them.

 **IV**

Felicity tossed around the bed, she now had his address. The place was not very far from her hotel. She wanted to talk to her mother but she knew Donna Smoak would kick her ass if she finds out why she was here. Her mother had moved on, she would be celebrating her eleventh wedding anniversary with Quentin in a few months.

Felicity abandoned her bed when she realized that she would not be getting any sleeping tonight. She tried reading, drinking warm milk and attempted yoga to calm herself down but nothing worked. She was too wired, filled with too much anxiety. She paced around her room.

Her habit of talking out loud, took over her.

"What if he refuses to acknowledge me?"

"What if he doesn't remember me?"

"What if he has a family here?" That made her pause in her steps. She was horrified, she realized that she never thought about him having another family.

"Am I going to ruin his life?" she asked herself. After what seemed like hours she decided she didn't want to meet him after all.

She realized she had gone through an awful lot just to be here. She decided to leave the next morning, she called the pilot to inform the change of plans. Flying private definitely had its perks. Suddenly Russia was suffocating to her. She decided to tell Barry and Caitlyn in the morning. She felt awful, she had dragged them here for nothing.

Just one more time, she just needed to see him once more, it might be her only chance. She dressed quickly and pocketed the address. The lobby was almost deserted, she made her way to her rental car.

She drove around for about ten minutes, she realized she had entered a residential area. The streets were lined with big luxurious houses.

She parked on the side of the road, she shivered when she got out of the car. The winters were brutal here. Her breath left her mouth and formed thick mist. She checked her tablet the tracker was still active, she was in front of the right house.

She chastised herself loudly.

"What were you thinking coming here in the middle of the night?"

"Did you really think you would find him roaming about the streets at this time of the night?" She sighed.

She knew she was behaving irrationally, what was wrong with her? She stared at the house ahead. She was drowning in melancholy.

She was so distracted she hadn't realized someone had sneaked up behind her. Before she could react her mouth and nose were being covered by a cloth. She let out a muffled scream, she tried hard not to breathe in the sickeningly sweet smell that she identified with chloroform but it was a futile effort as drowsiness slowly pulled her under.

 **V**

"Wakey wakey." A thick accented voice called out. Someone was roughly slapping on her cheeks.

She tried to squeeze her eyes open. The dim lights were harsh on her swollen eyes, she blinked away the blurriness.

She tried to move but realized she couldn't, she was unable to move her arms or legs. She was instantly filled with dread, adrenalin pumped through her veins. She realized with great alarm that she was tied down to a chair. Three really surly looking men were facing her, one in particular was leering at her making her skin crawl.

She surveyed her surroundings, she was in a dimly lit room, there was low window in the room and she could see the dawn. She was being held in a basement somewhere.

She realized she had been gagged too, she had heard stories about women getting abducted on foreign soil but never thought she would be one among them.

"Sleeping Beauty is awake." He guffawed in evil mirth. He moved forward to tuck her hair, she tried to move away from his touch. She squirmed as she felt his hands on her face.

She didn't even want to imagine what was ahead for her. No matter how strength she pretended to be, she couldn't stop the tears that rolled down.

"Don't worry princess I will take good care of you." He spoke again making her tremble in despair.

Her idea of a midnight stroll suddenly seemed so much more foolish to her now. Barry and Caitlyn would not get to her in time, they wouldn't know where to look for her to begin with. She wondered where she was. Who had her? The three men spoke among themselves, she really should have tried to learn a little Russian before she came down here.

She heard the door open and someone coming down the ladder. It turned out to be her father, she swallowed her silent gasp, she didn't want to believe that her father could be involved with people like these thugs in the room.

"Что здесь происходит?" Her father spoke in fluent Russian.

"Это сука здесь было отслеживание вашего автомобиля" The perverted thug replied, she could barely understand a word of their conversation.

She was quickly thinking of ways to let him know it was her.

"Что?" Her father snapped at the goon angrily.

"Я думаю она была после нас, я видел ее в отеле прошлой ночью" The younger looking minion responded.

She looked on helplessly, no matter how hard she tried she couldn't break free from the ropes.

"Вы узнайте кто она?" Her father asked them, the minions seemed to be terrified of the man in front of them.

She was instantly filled with disgust was this the man she had travelled half way across the globe for?

"American, Я нашел двух наборов по идентификации, один явно поддельные." Minion number three responded.

"Она может быть КС или журналист" Minion number two spoke.

"Давайте узнать" Her father told them.

"If you promise not to scream I will remove this from your mouth." Her father spoke to her, she nodded furiously jumping at the opportunity to tell him who she was.

She coughed once the gag was removed taking in big gulps of air through her mouth. Her breathing calmed down after a few seconds.

"Now tell me Miss who are you?" He asked her, peering down to look at her face. She summoned all the courage at her disposal before she spoke.

"My name is Felicity Smoak." She responded defiantly, his eyes widened in shock. He looked at her closely, he knew she was telling the truth. He recognized her now. Shock was slowly replaced by cold fury.

"Обрежьте ее ослаблен" He spewed angrily.

When the perverted minion hesitated he was rewarded with a menacing glare towards him.

"Я сказал вырезать ее ослаблен" He barked again making the minions stare at him in confusion.

Minion number two moved forward to cut her restrains. She rubbed her now sore and chaffed wrists.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with barely contained fury.

"Don't you think I need some answers dad." She replied boldly despite the circumstances that now she found herself in.

"Dad? Now that is a new development." A scrawny man who stood near the door responded.

"Anatoli." Her father called out, he looked surprised and slightly fearful of the man standing near the door.

 **Translation:**

Что здесь происходит? - What is going on here?

Это сука здесь было отслеживание вашего автомобиля - This bitch here was tracking your vehicle.

Что? – What?

Я думаю она была после нас, я видел ее в отеле прошлой ночью - I think she was following us, I saw her at the hotel last night

Вы узнайте кто она? - did you find out who she is?

Я нашел двух наборов по идентификации, один явно поддельные - Found two sets of identification, one clearly counterfeit

Она может быть КС или журналист – she may be a cop or a journalist

Давайте узнать – let's find out

Обрежьте ее ослаблен – cut her loose

Я сказал вырезать ее ослаблен - I said cut her loose

 **Your support means a lot to me... Let me know what you think...**


	9. New Identities

**A special thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert and favourite list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors. I don't know any Russian so please forgive me if there are any mistakes.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

 **I**

If the minions looked like they feared her father, they were almost pissing their pants in the presence of the scrawny man. The air in the basement seemed to have suddenly turned cold and silent; two minions looked downright terrified while the perverted minion although scared wore an anticipatory look on his face. Felicity could see the amount of fear that this physically unassuming man inculcated in these strong bulky men, even her father looked on edge.

She decided to remain seated in the chair she was earlier tied to, she really didn't trust her legs not to buckle under her. As the scrawny man made his way inside the room, the minions lined up in the far corner of the room with their heads hung low, she wondered if she had magically been transported to the medieval times.

She saw that her father held himself stiff with a calculative look in his eyes, she recognized that look because it was the same look that she wore when she was trying to figure something out.

A part of Felicity was repulsed that she shared any trait to the man who had borne her. She realized that the man she wanted to meet for so long did not turn out be the one she had expected, this man who was standing in front of her was clearly involved in some super shady things. She had unknowingly put him up on a pedestal and he fell well short of it. Hadn't Caitlyn warned her just last night, she almost let out a groan. She was going to get a loud told you so from her, Caitlyn was not a vicious person in nature but she did love being right.

The two men in the room were sizing up each other, each one determining how to throw the first punch. It was quite an interesting sight, like two bulls were about to lock horns.

"Что мы имеем здесь?" The scrawny man spoke first, he arched a brow in suspicion. Felicity was filled with frustration, she didn't know what they were talking about, it unsettled her but she could certainly feel the animosity between them.

"Что вы делаете здесь Анатолий?" Her father frowned giving the man a cold long stare.

She could deduce that these two men were definitely not friends and that spelt trouble to her. Whoever this Anatoly was seemed to have some sort of hold on her father, it was a dead give away to her from the way her father held himself in front of the man. He had a defensive posture; she wished she could understand what they were talking about.

Anatoly let out a slow sarcastic laugh which made her cringe inside. She tried to keep herself calm and composed; panicking would be counterproductive in this situation.

"Вы... Forgive me we are being rude to this young lady Mikhail." Anatoly looked anything but apologetic.

"I didn't know you had a daughter Mikhail." The scrawny man accused her father in his heavily accented English. She was grateful that she could keep up with the situation around her, it was annoying not to know what these men were talking about, especially when they were talking about her.

"It was a long forgotten mistake Anatoly." Her father replied steadily, she looked at him with shock and hurt. He looked at her nonchalantly; she didn't know what hurt her most, his words? Or the way he was disregarding her right now?

She clearly remembered her childhood, he had never once treated her like a mistake until the day he had abandoned them. She remembered all the bed time stories, the tickling on the couch. She was extremely confused as to why he would say something as spiteful as that.

"You have been lying to the brotherhood for..." Anatoly looked at Felicity "How old are you sugar?" he looked at her expectantly, raising his brows.

"26." Felicity managed to whisper her answer, she was proud that she hadn't quivered under his terrifying gaze.

"26 years." He let out a maniacal laugh. She saw her father clench his fists behind his back, she was the only one with a view to his back.

"You have once again broken the brotherhood's rules." He snarled at her father, she flinched at Anatoly's enraged reaction but her father stood his ground.

"I did not break any rule Anatoly." Her father responded coolly. Anatoly scoffed at him, unable to believe the defiance from his second in command.

"When Egor called me, he told me there was situation, I was not expecting this." Anatoly spat angrily.

"Neither did I." Mikhail retorted calmly.

"She is your daughter but not a bratva woman care to explain why Mikhail." Anatoly dared him, he wanted to know how many more lies he was going to hear tonight. This was turning out to be a game to him.

"Her mother was a bitch, a smart and sexy bitch, she would sleep with me only if I married her. I was young and all I wanted to do was fuck her but I got bored soon and left. They hold no value to me." He explained blandly making Anatoly smirk in amusement.

It was that moment that Felicity truly despised herself, she had put her mother through a crucible when her father had left them and she had blamed her mother for years. This man who was her biological father was truly a vile man.

"Hold no value you say." He repeated contemplatively scratching his bearded jaw.

"She can become a part of the family now, it is not too late Anatoly." Her father told him hurriedly, unlike the times before there was a sense of urgency in his voice. He quickly composed himself but it was too late, Anatoly and Felicity had noticed his slip.

"You have run out of favours Mikhail." Anatoly told him maliciously.

"I am sure you can find a way around it." Mikhail responded almost pleadingly.

"We find ourselves in quite a pickle my friend." He taunted, enjoying the power he now held over Mikhail. He had been waiting way too long for something like this.

"Спросите у капитана в России." Anatoly barked at the minions who were silently standing at the back of the room.

"Ограждение их до завтрашнего заседания" He told minion number two, Felicity saw the resigned look in her father's eyes.

She knew something was horribly wrong, like she would never make it alive out of here wrong. She felt extremely foolish, her mother, her friends, her boyfriend all of them were going to be devastated. She had no one to blame but herself, she was reckless and now she was going to be punished for it.

"Ограждение их, а если они escape i будет иметь головы" He told them menacingly.

"Я не разочарует вас сэр" The minion replied with a hint of smile on his face, Mikhail's jaw ticked in restrained anger. Felicity noticed that the minion had somehow gained an upper hand over her father.

"I will see you soon sweetheart." Anatoly's saccharine tone made her almost blanch in repulsion.

With that he made his grand exit, her father let out a small disappointed sigh. He rubbed his forehead absently.

"Оставьте нам" Mikhail ordered, the minions looked at each other undecidedly.

"Я сказал оставить нас" Mikhail raised his voice, the minion in charge nodded at the other two.

"Пять минут" The minion told Mikhail, the response from Mikhail had been instant.

Mikhail had the minion pinned to the wall, he was choking him. Felicity yelped loudly, the sudden display of violence had her shivering in the chair. She saw the minion's face turning blue, Felicity was stunned into silence, she couldn't believe she was about to witness her father murder someone right in front of her. The other two minions moved forward to separate them but one glare from Mikhail halted their steps.

"Я все еще здесь заведующий, Вы хорошо помните о том, что" Mikhail spewed in anger, the minion sputtered and slumped to the floor unceremoniously. He struggled to catch his breath. The other two minions helped him up and out of the room. The footstep of the minions slowly faded into the distance.

Felicity got up from her chair, she was relieved that she hadn't crumbled to the floor. Her nerves were shot, it had been a long few hours. She walked to where Mikhail stood, he turned to face her.

"How could you say such horrible things about my mother?" She cried in anguish her eyes swollen with unshed tears.

"She loved you, a part of her still loves you." She refused to back down, her voice quaked with hurt and disappointment.

He locked on to her hateful glare. His eyes were sad, he was ready for anything that she had to say to him.

"Believe me I was just trying to protect you." He defended. He didn't like the idea of her hating him anymore than necessary. His answer irked her to no extent; the rage that had been simmering inside was ready to burst open.

"Now your fatherly instincts kick in? Where were you when I was bullied all through high school? Where were you when I almost died in college? Where were you when an asshole broke my heart? Where were you?" She went on a long tirade, she took deep long breaths and swallowed back the sob that was trying to escape her throat.

"By abandoning you, I gave you a chance at a real life." He replied softly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She retorted in impatience.

"This is the Russian Mafia Felicity and I was all set to become the next leader in chief, the next Pakhan, there was no way I could have kept my family from being a part of it." He explained patiently but his reason infuriated her.

"Stop deluding yourself, you abandoned us for your greed, for power, for money so don't you dare tell me that you abandoned us for our well being." She snapped angrily.

"That is not true Felicity." He responded exasperatedly.

"If you truly loved us you could have walked away from them." She growled at him, unable to contain the disappointment and rage bubbling within her.

"It is not that simple, no man ever walks away from the bratva." He snapped back.

"So your solution was to walk away from us?" She relied on sarcasm to hide how hurt she truly was.

"Tell me how would you feel your entire life being controlled by the bratva, marrying a man you don't love, bearing sons who will follow their father into the bratva, bearing daughters who will be forced into the same fate as you." He was shaking with fury.

"Never being independent, never being appreciated." His eyes were filled with unshed tears. "Answer me." He roared.

"What's going to happen to me?" She asked, suddenly feeling too exhausted to fight.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to you I promise." He replied confidently but something told her that was not true.

"I can't leave, can I?" She knew she was going to be held here until they decided what was going to happen next.

"I am afraid not." He replied grimly.

"Then how can you promise nothing bad is going to happen?" She asked him, her voice was merely a feeble whisper.

"I have faith in the captain, he doesn't spill blood if he doesn't have to." He replied stubbornly.

"I am going to be killed aren't I?" She realized that they could have her killed, it all depended on that one person. A stranger was going to decide if she was going to live another day.

"No, just follow my lead tomorrow and just remember whatever I do or say is to keep you alive." He reassured her but it did nothing to the anxiousness that she was feeling.

"Alright." She nodded at him.

"How is Donna?" He asked after a long pause.

"She married a cop." She replied mockingly

"Trust Donna to explore all spectrums of society." He shot back with a hint of amusement.

"Do you have a family?" She asked him hesitantly.

"I have someone who I think of as a son." He replied, she instantly felt a pang of jealousy. In spite of everything that was happening she couldn't help but feel jealous, he doted on someone, loved someone, someone who was not her.

"Ее телефон сохраняет при звонке" Minion number two timidly made his way inside the room, he was carrying her beloved piece of technology. The minion quickly ducked out after giving her phone to her father, apparently the earlier display of violence from her father had scared him.

She flushed in embarrassment, she had totally forgotten about Barry and Caitlyn. They must be freaking out, she was flooded with immense guilt.

"Is anyone here with you?" Her father asked her.

"Yes, please don't hurt them." She replied with hesitation, she didn't want to put them in the line of fire.

"Ask them to leave the country now." He ordered, pacing in front of her.

"I am not sure they would leave without me." She replied, she knew her friends would never go back without her, they were really great that way.

"Convince them, their life may depend upon it." He barked making her jump out of her skin. She reluctantly took her phone

"Caitlyn?" She answered timidly.

"Where the hell are you?" She could hear her friend's panicked voice.

"We were just about to call the cops." She heard Barry rumble behind Caitlyn, she really hated being put on speaker.

"There is no need for that, I am fine." She replied as steadily as possible, she didn't want to raise any alarm bells.

"Where are you sweetheart?" Caitlyn asked her with a sigh.

"I couldn't wait Cate, I am with my father." She explained, it was the truth and hence very believable.

"We will be right over." Barry retorted swiftly.

"There is no need for that." She bit back, they can't come to her. Her body was stiff with anxiety.

"What do you mean?" Barry growled.

"I am going to stay back in Russia for a while, he wants to spend some time with me." She answered, again a lie but still so close to the truth.

"I don't think it is a good idea." Caitlyn replied patiently, she could hear banging noises in the background. Barry must be so furious with her, she really hated herself for lying to them.

"Barry please, I need some space." She begged.

"Are you sure about this sweetie?" Caitlyn asked softly, still no response from Barry that stung a bit.

"Yes, it is exactly what I want." She replied firmly, she bit the inside of her cheek, she didn't think sobbing on the phone would be a good idea.

"Fine, have it your way." Barry snapped.

"Can we at least meet you before we leave?" Caitlyn bargained, she could certainly sense something was wrong with her. She looked at her father, she knew she would need his help to go see her friends.

"Can I go meet them once?" She mouthed softly, dreading this could be the very last time she saw them. She was replied with a brief nod.

"Why don't we have breakfast together?" She suggested a little cheerfully.

 **II**

They were seated at the corner most table, she was suddenly no longer feeling hungry. Minion number one whose name she was yet to learn had accompanied her, she could feel his eyes on her, his words still rang in her ears _"don't do anything stupid."_

"Barry please don't be mad at me." She pleaded as she kept her eyes trained on the food in front of her.

"What do you want me to say Felicity?" He asked in exasperation.

"You gave us a real good scare." Caitlyn tried to appease them both.

"That was not my intention." She responded grimly.

"We know that." Caitlyn gave her hand a good squeeze, she never thought this would be so hard. It was taking all her inner strength to keep a bold front.

"You were reckless." Barry scolded once again.

"And I apologize once more for putting you both through that." She responded fiercely, she knew she had made a grave error but there was nothing she could do about it now. She was trying to salvage the situation as best as possible.

"You look tense, is everything alright?" Caitlyn shook her hand gently.

"Yeah everything is fine, I just have so many questions for him and I don't know where to start." She responded meekly.

"I am sure you will do fine." Caitlyn reassured her.

"What do you want me to tell your boyfriend?" Barry teased her, she looked up into his face and found he was not so angry at her as before, she let out a silent sigh.

"The truth." She replied despondently.

"He is going to be pissed." Caitlyn laughed at her misery.

"Well he knew what he was getting into." She tried to brush it off.

"That he did." Caitlyn was doubled over with laughter, if she only knew.

"How long are you planning to stay?" Barry asked her, she was hoping he wouldn't ask this question.

"I am not sure yet, a week maybe." She lied easily.

"I hope you find whatever you are looking for Felicity." He gave an encouraging smile.

"I do too Barry." She responded weakly.

 **III**

"My friends they are going to be fine right?" She implored her father once again, she was a nervous wreck. Her phone and tablet were seized once she got back, she felt quite distressed without them, she had no way of knowing if her friends had made it back safely.

"Nothing will happen to them." He reassured once again

"Earlier what did Anatoly mean by you broke the rules once again?" She asked the one question that had been bothering her for awhile.

"You are observant aren't you?" He replied with a wry smile.

"Don't dodge the question." She shot back seriously.

"Someone is out there to get me." He replied with a sigh.

"What? Who is it?" She asked him.

"I don't know, he's been sabotaging me for years, I should have been the Pakhan but the bratva choose Anatoly over me. Whoever it is wants me out of bratva or dead." He explained.

"Could it be him?" She asked.

"Who Anatoly? No I have already checked him." He shot her suspicion down.

"One of his loyalists then?" She asked him again.

"Not them either, I have checked all of them." He replied making her growl in frustration.

"You must have an inkling." She demanded.

"It could be the triads." He replied evenly.

"Who?" She asked confused, it was an unknown term to her.

The Chinese mafia." He answered.

"What did you do to offend them?" She questioned him gently.

"I cleansed the triad presence from every European country." He replied, he seemed a little smug about it.

"No wonder. But the bratva must realize that casting you away or killing you is stupidity." She reasoned.

"I never said that the bratva were a clever bunch." He sighed deeply making her feel a lot more dejected than before.

 **IV**

She was given the guest bedroom in her father's house, she tossed around unable to sleep the entire night. Early next morning she was roused with a knock on the door asking her to get ready, she had brought her bag back from the hotel yesterday. It had been an embarrassing few moments when the pervy minion went through her bag, she had itched to sock one on his face. Her father and her had been separated for the night, apparently the minions didn't want them to hatch a plan together.

She quickly got ready, this uncertainty needed to end.

"Where are they taking us?" She asked her father once he joined her in the car beside her.

"To the bratva headquarters." He replied calmly.

"Don't show them an ounce of weakness." He told her when he noticed how nervous she looked.

"Got it." She bit back.

 **V**

"Welcome my friend." Anatoly greeted them with wide open arms.

"I don't feel very welcomed Anatoly." Her father shot back as he notice the amount of men present in the room or the lack of men present in the room to be precise.

Her father had explained on the ride over, decisions as important as this the entire bratva community in Russia was to be present and they will be allowed to put forth their side of the story in front of them before any decision was derived upon and Mikhail had been quite confident that there were enough members who were still loyal to him. They won't let Anatoly run rampant.

As soon as she entered the large room she knew Anatoly was not going to let them walk back alive. Anatoly stood by five of his men who were heavily armed but other than them there was no one present. He had turned out to be quite the bastard. A chill surrounded her, even her father who was quite confident before looked glum. He had trusted Anatoly to follow the code which he conveniently didn't.

"You know both of your fates are not sealed yet." Anatoly told them salaciously.

"Is it not Anatoly?" Her father bit back, he was shaking with rage.

"I will leave the decision to the captain, I promise, no matter what he chooses I will follow his decision." He told them cheerfully.

"He is just a kid." Her father growled irritably, he was physically restrained by his minions when he tried to approach Anatoly. She stood behind him unsure of what she could do to help.

"That kid is the heir to my throne."Anatoly responded.

Just then she heard someone enter.

"My favourite lady American." Anatoly greeted the person. She had her back to that person.

"It is been a while kynazev." The person responded, she knew the voice so well but it couldn't be.

"It is." Anatoly seemed genuinely happy to see the person, there was no fake cheeriness in his voice.

"Sara?" She turned around to confirm her suspicion, she blurted out the name before she could think.

"Felicity?" Sara looked equally stunned if not more to see her there.

"You know Mikhail's daughter?" Anatoly asked Sara.

"Mikhail's daughter?" Sara asked him, as she looked at Felicity.

"He had a secret family that we didn't know about." Anatoly explained to a still stunned Sara.

"Do you know her?" Anatoly asked her again. Sara collected herself, now she was wearing a mask of indifference.

"She is my step sister." She replied indifferently, Felicity was too exhausted to be hurt by Sara's attitude.

"What a small world." Anatoly speculated.

"Indeed." Sara chuckled.

Felicity was still recovering from shock but nothing could have prepared for what was about to come next.

"Anatoly." He walked in with strong and confident steps.

Felicity watched him saunter in like a dangerous predator, she felt faint, she must be surely stuck in her own personal nightmare set to torture her to the limits. He was the American Captain? She felt like she had been hit by a sledge hammer. He walked in with a large African American man in tow.

"My favourite American." Anatoly moved forward to engulf him in a warm hug.

"Why did you summon us." Oliver asked him, he hadn't noticed her yet.

It had been ten long years since she was in the same room as him, yet she felt the nervous tingling in her stomach whenever she was near him.

Felicity had realized that his voice had grown thick and deep, there was a velvety richness that was not there before. She realized the paparazzi shots and the tabloid shots didn't quite do him justice. Every trace of boyishness was erased from his face, the shaggy blonde hair shorn away. He was sporting a buzz cut that made him look slightly dangerous, he stood there tall imposing in the room.

"Straight to business, that's why you are my favourite." Anatoly grinned at his favourite pupil.

"Anatoly." Oliver warned him lowly.

"Relax Oliver, meet Mikhail's daughter." Anatoly pointed to her direction, at first he failed to recognize her. His eyes simply glanced over her.

"Mikhail has a daughter?" He asked Anatoly confused by the new revelation.

"One he hid from us." Anatoly spat in anger.

"Felicity?" It was a moment before he realized it was her, if he was surprised he hid it extremely well.

"You know her too?" Anatoly asked him irritably.

"I have seen her with Sara." He replied offhandedly. Felicity really didn't know what to make of all of this? She was quickly reminded of how much she hated him with his reply. She clenched her fist in anger.

"Why are they here?" He asked Anatoly calmly.

"He broke the rules Oliver, she should have been inducted as soon as she was born, now she knows too much without being a member." Anatoly was too eager to be done away with them.

"Why am I here Anatoly?" Oliver demanded.

"When you become the Pakhan you will have some tough decisions to make, your training begins today." He told Oliver. "Their fates rest in your hands."

"She is not a part of anything, let her go Oliver you can have me." Her father yelled out, startling everyone around him.

"I must be stupid to let her go." It was Oliver who spoke those sarcastic words.

"Oliver?" For the first time Felicity addressed him, she couldn't believe Oliver would be ready to kill her. They had been friends a long time ago, hadn't they?

"She has the capability to bring us all down with the snap of her finger." He continued as if she hadn't spoken yet.

"So what is it going to be Oliver?" Anatoly asked him for his decision, making her heart almost lurch out of its place.

"She is intelligent she can help us branch out, you must be stupid to have her executed. Think smartly Oliver. Your father would never do this." Her father pleaded, his desperation quite evident now that all his plans had failed.

Felicity realized she had no chance to begin with, her fate had been sealed the moment she had stepped out of her hotel that fateful night.

"You are right my father would never kill a woman, he would never kill someone he could use." His words were venomous, she staggered a little. She had nothing to say, she felt like she was in a twilight zone.

"You don't mean that." Her father pleaded.

"Let's get on with it Oliver." Anatoly urged once more.

"I vote to kill her." Anatoly began.

"I think you are right we should kill her." Oliver responded to Anatoly. Felicity felt her blood run cold, she felt numb, she could hear her father's loud protest. She stood rooted to her place behind her father unable to understand what was happening around her.

 **Translation**

Что мы имеем здесь? - What do we have here?

Что вы делаете здесь Анатолий?" - What are you doing here Anatoly?

Спросите у капитана в России - Ask the captain to come to Russia.

Ограждение их до завтрашнего заседания - Guard them until tomorrow's meeting.

Ограждение их, а если они escape i будет иметь головы - Guard them well, if they escape I will have your head.

Я не разочарует вас сэр - I will not disappoint you Sir.

Оставьте нам - Leave us.

Я сказал оставить нас - I said leave us.

Пять минут - Five minutes.

Я все еще здесь заведующий, Вы хорошо помните о том, что - I am still in charge here, you will do well to remember that.

Ее телефон сохраняет при звонке - The phone keeps on ringing.

 **Your support means a lot to me... Let me know what you think... Keep your reviews coming... it makes me write better and faster...**


	10. Broken Pieces

**First of all I would like to apologize for such a delayed update... I was unwell for a while got better then got sick again... This nasty cold had me out for while but I am back and I promise that there will be regular updates from now on... Once again a special thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert and favourite list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.**

 **And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

 **A special shout out to the lovely victoriaOlicity for the lovely art work for this story...**

 **I**

Thirty thousand feet and nearly a thousand miles separated her from the country that had turned her life upside down. She should be rejoicing, jumping up and down that she was still breathing and so was her father, at least she hoped so. The Bratva were big on keeping their word and she hoped her father was going to be kept alive until the status quo changed. She heaved a huge sigh, her legs were cramping and exhaustion seemed to be pulling her under. It had been nearly 48 hours since she got a good night's rest. She fought to keep her eyes open, she was sitting in one of the seats on the tail end of the Queen jet. She had specifically chosen this seat to avoid the bunch of people sitting in the front of the jet.

She knew she should be grateful, if not for him she and her father would be six feet under yet she was rather pissed off with Oliver's decisions. He had literally torn her life apart with his decisions. No matter how hard she tried the events that took place in the bratva headquarters could not be erased from her mind. She hoped with time the event would become a faint memory, somehow she doubted that would happen.

 **II**

 **Five Hours Ago...**

"I think you are right we should kill her." Oliver responded to Anatoly.

"An excellent decision, my boy." Anatoli responded cheerfully to Oliver's decision. She could feel the bile rising from her stomach, fear engulfed her.

Felicity stood there numb, the small hope that had sprung when she realized Oliver was the infamous Bratva captain was squashed to pieces when she heard his choice. Was Oliver really going to kill her? Her father protested loudly and was being restrained by his minions, Oh how times had changed for him. She saw that Sara looked worried, she had bonded with Sara for a little while and now the same step sister was going to stand witness for her execution. She rued her bad luck. Even the man behind Oliver looked uncomfortable with his decision.

Did Oliver want her to beg for her life? She was in shock and her body was refusing to obey her, it stood rooted to the place.

"I would like the honour sire." The perverted minion who had been eyeing her since they kidnapped her sought permission from Oliver. She shivered despite the room being terribly warm, was Oliver really going to let this happen to her?

She wondered what happened to the boy whom she knew. Admittedly it had been ten years since she saw him, but nobody could change so much.

Nobody had seen the Queen siblings after the Gambit accident. There was absolutely no trace of them, where they were, how they were, nothing was known. However they did resurface after five long years. Oliver Queen took over the reins of Queen consolidated; Thea Queen was still in an undisclosed location in Europe and from time to time photos of her partying around the globe surfaced keeping the press on their toes.

Tabloids went crazy when Oliver Queen took over his family's legacy, some of them even wrote that he would be the last Queen to rule the company and he was going to destroy the company.

Similarly people had expected Oliver to bankrupt the company; the shareholders had no faith in his administration. He had no college degree to speak of, no experience; all he had was his family's name. His reputation was proving to be damaging his career but he proved all his critics wrong, within a year he had earned the trust of his board members. He was decisive and cut throat when it came to his business, he was a charismatic leader and everyone loved working with him. He still maintained his playboy persona from his teen hood, Oliver Queen always had a new girl in his arms every few days. Even the press had lost interest in his dating history.

Despite of how things had ended between them Felicity couldn't erase his memories from her mind, she had kept tabs on Oliver. She was happy for him, he seemed to be doing well for himself. She always felt this uncomfortable pang whenever she went to Starling city to visit her mother. The city she had been consciously avoiding since the older Queen made his comeback but her mother always persuaded her into coming home for the holidays. She would always glance at the Queen consolidated building on her way home and wonder if he was in there.

She snapped back to the present, she wondered if this is where her story ended. In an unknown country far away from the people she loved.

"But." Oliver's thick voice jolted her from her thoughts.

"What's wrong Oliver?" Anatoli prodded him quickly.

"She is the head of Applied Sciences in Palmer Technology." He replied evenly to Anatoli.

"Isn't it the company you are trying to take over?" Anatoli asked him surprised by the new piece of information that was just offered to him.

"Yes and it would be extremely foolish of me to kill her now when I can use her to get what I want." He replied coldly.

"Ah! She seems to be useful after all." Anatoli grinned at her, he was pure evil.

"Strip Mikhail of his powers, place him under house arrest. He is the leverage that we need for her to do our bidding." He told Anatoli firmly. Anatoli seemed like he had just swallowed a very sour lemon.

She let out a silent sigh of relief, she was going to live to see another day and so was her father.

"It is your decision captain." Anatoli looked a little put out at Oliver's decision but he had given his word and he had to stand by it.

She was alright with all of Oliver's decision until she heard his next few words.

"She will be inducted into the bratva and marry someone from the brotherhood." He finished calmly.

At this Felicity was jolted into awareness.

"What? You can't do this." She cried out in protest. Her voice came out as a shrilly cry.

"It is either this or death the choice is yours." He told her squarely.

"This is unfair, I won't tell anyone please let me go." She complained in anger. Tears of frustration spilled onto her cheeks.

"You have no choice Felicity." He told her in finality.

"No!"

"No!" She whispered in vain.

 **III**

And that's how she was on the Queen jet on her way to Coast city to say goodbye to the life that she knew. She saw Sara slowly making her way towards her; she feigned sleep as she got closer.

"I know you are not asleep." Sara mocked.

Felicity remained unmoved in her seat.

"This is childish." Sara moaned in exasperation. Felicity sighed, she knew it was juvenile. She gave up her pretence and opened her eyes.

Sara placed a food tray in front of her on the table and took the seat opposite to her. Felicity eyed the tray contemplatively, she was starving but she was still too angry at them.

"You need to eat." Sara told her gently.

"I am not hungry." She snapped.

"I am not sure that's true I could hear your stomach grumbling all the way in the front." She replied teasingly. Felicity was in no mood for jokes.

"I said I am not hungry." She responded stubbornly.

"I know you are angry and rightly so." Sara tried to comfort her.

"What I feel is beyond anger Sara." She bit back. Sara looked annoyed now, all her efforts at peace talks was being blocked by the blonde in front of her.

"We saved your life out there." Sara accused her.

"Saved my life for what? To force me into servitude?" She cried in fury.

"This life is not a curse Felicity." Sara responded sympathetically.

"It is for me, I have a life in Coast city that I am extremely happy in." Came in Felicity's infuriated reply.

"I promise it was the only way to save you." Sara responded with something akin to pity.

Felicity merely nodded her head suddenly drained of her anger.

"Why are you part of the Bratva Sara, how did you get into this? Does Quentin know about this?" Questions came barrelling out of Felicity, she had been too furious to think about them until now.

"I know you have all these questions that you need answers to, I promise to answer every single one of them but now is not the time for that." Sara responded carefully.

Felicity sighed in exasperation. She was being stonewalled everywhere.

"Please eat and get some rest I will wake you once we reach Coast city." Sara told her gently.

Even though she wanted to rebuff Sara's offer, she desperately needed food and some sleep. She had been running on pure adrenalin for the past two days. She reluctantly ate the food in front of her.

 **IV**

Felicity didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she found Sara shaking her awake. The couch in the back was way too comfortable than she thought but she couldn't remember making her way down to it.

"Hey we are here." She told her softly.

"Thank you." She mumbled back. She wore her glasses and righted her hair which she was sure was sticking in thousand different directions. She walked to the front slowly stretching her legs. She was so focused on not stumbling down that she had missed noticing Oliver standing by the door for her.

She unceremoniously bumped into him, he recoiled from her like she had burned him. A flash of hurt passed through her but she was quick to rein it in. She stepped back to put some space between them.

"You know what to do?" Oliver asked her.

"Yep, say goodbye to the life that I know without raising suspicion. I think I got it." She bit back forcibly.

"Sara will drop you off at your place. You have until tomorrow." He told her.

She just nodded at him. When she tried to move past him, he held her back with a strong hold over her forearm.

"Don't do anything stupid Felicity I won't be merciful another time." He whispered in her ear raising Goosebumps all over her body. She turned to look into his eyes, she saw a dangerous glint in them.

She swallowed thickly before responding. "I won't." She whispered.

"Good."

She rushed down to the awaiting vehicle as soon as he released her. It was just mid morning in Coast city, she had plenty of time to get her things in order.

 **V**

Sara's men were extremely efficient; her things in the apartment that she owned in Coast city were packed up within three hours.

She frantically stood there giving out directions that were not much heeded to. She had assured Sara she would deal with her landlord later in the day.

Her apartment looked too big when it was stripped bare of the belongings in it. There was a lone chair by the window in the living room.

She hesitantly fired a text to the person, who would be the one to get hurt the most by her actions.

" _Hey I am back, we need to talk."_ She held her phone with apprehension. She knew he could be in a meeting or too absorbed in the lab to reply back but her phone chimed way too quickly than she expected.

" _Wow that sounds dangerous."_ Came in his teasing reply.

" _Are you too busy? Can you come home now?"_ She asked him, she wanted to be done with this. The longer she dragged it the more painful it was going to be.

" _Ted Kord is here, I wish I could leave."_ She just remembered the meeting that she was supposed to be a part of, she groaned she was just a terrible employee. The company had been struggling for quite some time, the CEO's crazy inventions were sinking the company and Ted Kord was going to be their saviour.

" _I am so sorry for making you do this alone."_ She apologized guiltily.

" _Don't worry I intent to punish you for that."_ She gulped loudly when she read his text, a warm shiver ran through her.

" _I have something to tell you."_ She texted him hesitantly.

" _You stole my words, I will rush as soon as possible."_ A lone tear escaped her eye, she wasn't sure she could do this to him.

 **VI**

" _I am here, come up to the penthouse."_ Her phone chimed indicating the incoming message. She sighed miserably as she read the text. The skyline had turned dark long ago, she had been starring at them for hours today. It was the first time she had truly observed the Coast city skyline, she hadn't realized it was this beautiful. She cursed at all the missed opportunities.

Even though she had been dating Ray Palmer for the past four years, she hadn't moved in with him and being the understanding boyfriend he was he had let her have her independence. Two years ago he had bought her this apartment and bought himself the penthouse in the same building. She had protested furiously in the beginning but she had to give in, he had been a pretty incredible boyfriend and she hadn't wanted to push her luck anymore.

She looked around her apartment one last time, she was openly crying now, she was going to miss this place. She locked up behind her and pushed the key into her jean pocket, she needed to give them back to Ray.

She swiped her personal key card for his penthouse, she entered and she couldn't even see two feet ahead of her. She groaned irritably, Ray had a love for dark curtains and turning of the lights off when he needed to think. He had always jabbered about the darkness making his mind sharper.

She flicked the switch but did not get the expected result. The room should have been flooded with bright light, she had personally had them installed. There was no way there was something wrong with the fuse the building was way too posh for that. Did he bring one of his experiments home and fried the electrical board. She wondered if she could make it to the window without bumping into anything, it was a full moon today and she knew there would be plenty of light that would stream in through the windows. She closed the door behind her which was really a stupid move, now she could practically see nothing ahead.

"Ray?" She called out timidly.

The lights came on suddenly almost blinding her for a second.

Nothing had prepared her for the sight before her, Ray stood in the middle of the living room dressed to the nines and wearing the goofiest grin on his face.

The living room was devoid of any furniture except for a small dining table and two chair, the table was set, she immediately knew what this was.

"What's going on Ray?" She asked him cautiously.

"I am trying to do something that I failed twice before." He answered awkwardly, he ran a hand through his hair nervously. She wanted to run into his arms and soothe his doubts, the sinking feeling in her stomach was getting worse.

"Hub city." She whispered remembering the disastrous trip in the recent past where she had squashed all his plans, got into a fight with him and rushed back home without him. It was the time when she had discovered about Mikhail, it had not been a good week for her.

"Yeah that one was a major bust." He confirmed her suspicion, it was the first time he had tried to propose and all his plans had gone down the gutter.

"When was the other time?" Her voice came out as a broken cry.

"Paris." He chuckled.

They had to rush back early from their Paris trip because of a fire at one of the factories. Nobody was killed in the fire but millions worth of merchandise was destroyed in it. She merely nodded at Ray's answer.

He walked towards her and got on his knees in front of her. He took her hands in his and pulled out a ring from his pocket. She recognized the ring, it was his grandmother's ring and a family heirloom.

"Felicity Smoak the day you walked into my office is the happiest moment of my life; that moment changed me in ways I could have never imagined. I am a better man today because of you. I want you by side for eternity, marry me." He finished with a soft smile on his face. Felicity's heart was being torn to shreds, the moment that she had been anxiously expecting had come but she couldn't accept his proposal now, Oliver would kill Ray if she tried to tell him the truth, she had no doubt about that.

Tears streamed down easily from her eyes.

"I don't know what to say." She sobbed. Ray shifted uneasily, he was still on his knees.

"All you have to say is yes; I never meant to make you cry so much." He chuckled mischievously. She clenched her teeth, she prepared herself to break his heart.

"I can't do this Ray." She told him bitterly, as she pulled her hand away from him.

Confusion flooded his handsome face; he stood up to tower over her.

"What do you mean by you can't do this?" He asked in a panic filled voice.

"I tried very hard Ray but I can't do this anymore, please let me go." She told him apologetically. She stepped back from his touch, it broke her heart to see the man she loved in so much pain.

"I am sorry for pushing marriage so suddenly, we can take our time about it. I am sorry for spooking you." He ran a hand through his hair helplessly. He tried to hug her which she easily manoeuvred out of.

"No Ray." She cried in response.

"We don't have to rush, we can do this when you feel comfortable." He pleaded.

"You are not listening Ray, I am done." She yelled shocking him into silence.

He sauntered slowly towards her and jerked her towards him. His grip on her shoulders was turning to be quite painful, she clenched her fist to keep herself from crying out loud.

"You are done?" He demanded in anguish.

"You are hurting me please let me go." She sobbed, his grip on her eased and he looked regretful of his actions.

"I am so sorry." He apologized.

There was a moment of silence between them, neither of them having the will or the energy to speak.

"Why Felicity? I thought you were happy with me." He asked her, his voice filled with hurt and anger.

"I thought I was happy too but you are not enough Ray, I need to find what is." She tried hard not to choke on her words. That was the killing blow, she knew that she had hurt him in the worst possible way.

Ray Palmer was born to two highly intellectual and rich human beings, who considered inventing and making money more important than their son. He was never enough for them, he yearned for their love and affection. Felicity knew this and used it to hurt him. A resigned look took over his face.

"So that's it?" He asked her sarcastically.

"I have mailed HR my resignation." She informed him gently.

"Wow you do move quickly." He snapped. "Did you ever truly love me Felicity." He asked her spitefully.

"You know I did Ray." She cried out in protest and disappointment.

"I don't believe you." He bit back.

Felicity bit her trembling lips, she didn't want cry anymore.

"Ray I never expected us to end up like this." She told him honestly.

She placed her apartment key and the key card to his penthouse on the table near the door, Ray watched her movements with disbelief. Just an hour ago he was one of the happiest men on this planet and now he truly didn't know who he was.

A life without Felicity seemed like a prison sentence to him, he couldn't imagine how he would ever get over her. Felicity cried all the way down to her car, she couldn't believe that she had done that to Ray. Ray had been nothing but kind and loving to her, she had betrayed his love, she had betrayed his trust.

 **VII**

She had spent the night in the arms of one Caitlyn Snow, she had cried until she could cry no more. Caitlyn and Barry did not understand her sudden choice to go back to Starling, a city she had been avoiding since college but they understood her need for space from Ray but what they didn't understand was why it had to happen so quickly.

She had lied effortlessly of how she needed her mother right now. Her friends were given no choice but to agree with her.

Barry drove her to the tarmac. She wore thick sunglasses to protect her swollen eyes. She kissed her friends goodbye before she got into the jet.

Oliver was waiting for her by the door. She tried to ignore him and move past him but he wouldn't let her. He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, she flinched in pain. She had two very dark bruises on her shoulders. Oliver looked at her in speculatively before he pulled his hand away.

"Did everything go according to plan?" He asked her, his voice was rich with sleep.

"Yes." She snapped. She became extremely irritable when he still wouldn't let her pass through.

"Are you sure no one suspected you." He demanded. That was the breaking point for her.

"No one suspects me, everything went according to your stupid plan. I shattered my life into a million different pieces yesterday. Are you happy now?" She yelled at him unable to control her anger.

Oliver moved towards her like a predator, he had her trapped between the door and him.

"You will not raise your voice towards me." He told her in a low growl. She gulped nervously.

"Hey you are here." Sara approached her, Sara had been conversing with Diggle when she heard someone yelling. She came to check on the commotion. Oliver moved away from her, she sighed in relief.

Felicity looked at her blankly, her cheeks were slightly flushed in embarrassment.

"Come on let's go." Sara pulled her away from Oliver and towards her seat.

She tried to tell herself that everything was going to be alright, she was going back Starling city a place that was home. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she making it out to be.

She closed her eyes to get some sleep, she was about to be hit by hurricane Donna once she found out that she had broken it off with Ray. She loved him like a son.

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